All patients going to the SMS Medical College and its associated hospitals will have to disclose their religion at the time of registration, a move which authorities say is meant to create a database of population-specific diseases.



An order was issued by SMS Medical College principal Sudhir Bhandari on July 12, asking associated hospitals to follow the system of filling a pre-OPD form in which patients have to write all their details, including religion. The system has already been introduced in SMS Hospital and the associated hospitals are likely to implement it soon, officials said.

SMS Hospital Superintendent D S Meena said information about religion, sex, age, area helps to prepare a database for medical research purposes and also helps understanding the disease prevalent in a specific area and population. The system has been introduced with the intention to create such a database, he said. 

Giving examples, he said that Vitamin D deficiency is more common in Muslim women and penile carcinoma is common among Hindus, so such information was important for medical research.