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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2014 R Ramya, 2014

GIS ENABLED HOSPITAL SERVICESAND FACILITIES INFORMATION SYSTEMFOR COIMBATORE CITY (G-HIS FOR CBE)

R Ramya1*

1 Civil Engineering, Indus College of Engineering/ Anna University, India.

*Corresponding author:R Ramya � dsh6489@gmail.com

ISSN 2319 – 6009 www.ijscer.com

Vol. 3, No. 2, May 2014

© 2014 IJSCER. All Rights Reserved

Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2014

Research Paper

INTRODUCTION

Readily available authentic information aboutservices and facilities are very vital to thecitizens. In the case of hospitals, theinformation is still more critical as even theslightest delay in decision making can haveserious impacts. As medical industry is gettingmore and more advanced and sophisticatedwith diagnostic, healing and other healthcareservices, providing such information to thecitizen as well as those working in the industryitself, helps better and timely decision support.

The specific objectives of the study werethe following:

• To develop a GIS based spatial databaseof Coimbatore city.

• To survey and map the hospital locations.

• To carry out a detailed primary survey onhospital services and facilities.

• To develop a Relational DatabaseManagement System (RDBMS) of thehospital information system.

• To establish a desktop based, integratedGIS and RDBMS environment.

METHODOLOGY

The methodology of the study involved twomajor components; GIS and RDBMS.

Readily available authentic Information about services and facilities are very vital to the Citizens.In case of Hospitals, the information is still more critical as even the slightest delay in decisionmaking can have serious impacts. Such a comprehensive information base is absent in thecase of the services and facilities offered by hospitals. The present study aims at developing aGIS based information system for all available services and facilities of hospitals in city. GISallows the integration of geographic and non-geographic (attribute) information to facilitate realisticdecision making. The GIS environment also allows exploring the availability of services, variousoptions based on proximity, availability of doctors, etc., in a user friendly interactive interface.

Keywords:Database, GIS, Hospitals, Information system, User friendly interface

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The base map of the city was digitized inGIS environment, keeping the scanned surveyof India map as backdrop image. The imagewas georeferenced using the Ground ControlPoints (GCPs) collected using GlobalPositioning System (GPS) at various landmarklocations of the Coimbatore city.

The geographic coordinate locations of 32identified major hospitals were collected usingGPS. The data was stored as MS ACCESStable and the same was added in GISenvironment as a new layer with properidentification numbers.

After a few discussions held with an expertcommunity working in the various sectors ofmedical industry such as hospitaladministration, public health, healthcare etc.,a data entry form was designed. This form

consisted the details such as name, address,contact number, category type and website IDof hospitals and second part being informationon services, doctors, etc.

The database consist the following tables

• Hospital – basic profile

• Departments

• Services and facilities

A database schema was designed in MSACCESS containing multiple tables,structures and various logical relations amongtables. (Screenshot No. 1)

In the desktop GIS environment all thespatial and RDBMS data were added. Thehospital layer was connected with the RDBMSusing appropriate foreign key.

Screenshot No. 1: Showing The Database Structure

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2014 R Ramya, 2014

Since the hospital information includedmultiple tables, one-to-many relationship wasestablished in the GIS information thatconnected the detailed tables with the hospitallayer.

The G-HIS is used technologies such as ArcGIS 9.1 for digitization and Microsoft Accessfor database creation, Table and Spatial QueryAnalysis by use of Arc View 3.2a .NetworkAnalyst for network analysis and coordinatecollection with the help of Magellan SportrakGPS.

The GIS-RDBMS integration was achievedin Arc View by using “SQL connect” function.The analysis such as spatial query, Tabularquery and network analysis were carried outin the Arc view 3.2a.

RESULTS

The analysis results a GIS enabled HospitalServices and Facilities Information System (G-HIS) which provide desktop GIS basedapplication facilitating user friendly query ofbasic information regarding the nearesthospital, available services and departmentsand an interactive shortest route applicationto any selected hospitals (Screen shot No. 2).

The results involved three analyses, such astabular query, spatial query and networkanalysis. The tabular query is based onattribute value. A location satisfying the queryis highlighted and attached record will also behighlighted. For example if a user wants toknow the hospitals having cardiologydepartment, the user has to execute a simple

Figure 1: Flow Chart-G-HIS

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2014 R Ramya, 2014

Screen Shot No. 2: Of G-his Facilitating User Friendly Query Of Basic InformationRegarding The Selected Hospital, Address And Departments

Screen Shot No. 3: Of G-his Showing Results Of Spatial Query To Find The NumberOf Hospitals Falls Within The Distance Of 2km

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2014 R Ramya, 2014

Screen Shot No. 4: Attributes Detail In Arc View

Screen Shot No. 5: Of G-his Showing Results Of Network Analysis

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2014 R Ramya, 2014

query using mouse and by selecting thedepartment cardiology from the list, the querysatisfying hospitals are highlighted(Screenshot No. 3).

Tabular query also facilities combinationsearch such as hospitals having bothcardiology and neurology departments. Thelocation of kalpana hospital, Ellen hospital, KGHospital, etc., will be highlighted.

The spatial query is based on a spatialrelationship of objects. For example , toexecute a query to find the number of hospitalsfalling within a specified distance from aselected point, the “select by theme” functionmay be used.

Network analysis module of GIS providesshortest path between two specified locations.The shortest route function between twohospital displayed in red colored route. (Screenshot No. 5)

CONCLUSION

Hospital service is one area where informationis very critical. Unfortunately the information iseither incomplete or disintegrated. GIS andDatabase enabled information system not onlymanages the information systematically, butalso allows the user to adopt effectivedecisions.

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