Major changes are being introduced in the process of preparing postmortem reports in Bihar. Postmortem reports in all medical colleges, hospitals, and district hospitals in the state will no longer be manually prepared. The preparation is underway to digitize and input postmortem reports online after the procedure. This system aims to bring transparency to the management of postmortem reports, eliminating any possibilities of tampering in the future. The Additional Chief Secretary of the Health Department, Pratyay Amrit, conducted a review with all medical college hospital directors and civil surgeons in this regard and instructed them to take steps in this direction.
The police investigation process will not be affected. Currently, in Bihar, any corpse involved in accidents, violence, snake bites, gunshot wounds, drowning, or any medical-legal case undergoes a postmortem examination conducted by the police. Presently, postmortems are carried out in medical college hospitals and district hospitals in Bihar, leading to delays in report preparation. After postmortem, the report is manually prepared, registered, causing further delays. This not only hinders the timely availability of reports but also affects police investigations. To address this, the Health Department has initiated the use of high-tech postmortem rooms to input reports online.
There is a directive to complete postmortems within 24 hours. Several states in the country have already implemented this practice. Bihar, too, has begun the process of online submission of postmortem reports. The state government has also directed all postmortem rooms to complete postmortems within 24 hours. With this timeframe, reports will be instantly entered online, providing advantages in medical-legal cases and police investigations. This initiative aims to eliminate any doubts regarding foul play in postmortem procedures and ensures timely reporting.
