COLOMBO, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Health Ministry will introduce e-health cards by the end of this year, which will uplift the country's free state health sector, local media reported Thursday.
Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the e-cards will include all the health information of an individual citizen which will make free health care easier at the state hospitals.
Under the project, a complete medical report of a citizen which includes the blood group, medical history and details of the three last visits to the doctor or hospital, weight and body mass index and other bio metric data will be stored in the e-card.
"Any doctor, in Sri Lanka or overseas, can immediately provide treatment to a patient with the help of the e-card in case of an emergency or if the patient is unconscious," Senaratne said.
"We strongly advise all citizens to have the e-health card with them all the time to prevent any risk to their lives in the event of an accident or serious ailment," he added.
The e-health card project will be implemented at a cost of 65 million euros (74 million U.S. dollars) and it has already been lunched as a pilot project in Beruwala, in southern Sri Lanka and Kalutara and Bandaragama, in western Sri Lanka.
Further, all state hospitals will be equipped with the necessary technology to access all the health information of an individual citizen through the e-card.
"I hope with the introduction of the e-health card this year, our free health care delivery system will be revolutionized in par with that of any developed country," the minister said.
