Archive · 9 Sep 2026
BMC Explores Speech-to-Text AI for Hospital Consultations Across Mumbai
Mumbai’s civic health department is testing a new way to help doctors write medical records.
The system would listen to consultations and turn spoken words into text.
That text could become part of a patient’s digital health record.
This may give doctors more time to focus on patients instead of typing.
The project is being considered as part of the BMC’s hospital digitisation programme.
The programme is already being used for outpatient services at Sion Hospital.
It is expected to expand to registrations, prescriptions, tests and some payments.
Patients may eventually be able to access their records without carrying paper documents.
The BMC says busy hospitals and background noise could make the technology difficult to use.
The BMC is exploring speech-to-text AI to turn doctor-patient conversations into digital medical records.
The proposed technology is planned as the next phase of the Hospital Management Information System.
HMIS is already operating at the outpatient department level at Sion Hospital and will expand across BMC hospitals.
The broader digitisation programme will cover registration, consultations, prescriptions, diagnostic investigations and selected payments.
The BMC has partnered with Fractal to study challenges including background noise and busy hospital consultations.
- Who
- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, led on this initiative by Additional Municipal Commissioner Prajakta Lavangre Varma, is exploring the technology with Fractal.
- What
- The BMC is considering speech-to-text AI for doctor-patient consultations as the next phase of its Hospital Management Information System.
- When
- The update was reported on September 8, 2026; Varma reviewed the programme at Sion Hospital on the preceding Monday.
- Where
- The initiative is being developed for BMC hospitals in Mumbai, with HMIS already operating at Sion Hospital.
- Why
- The aim is to reduce doctors’ typing workload, create digital medical records, make services paperless and reduce waiting times.
- Programme
- Hospital Management Information System (HMIS)
- Proposed AI use
- Converting consultation speech into text for digital medical records
- Current implementation
- HMIS is operational at the outpatient department level at Sion Hospital
- Planned services
- Online registration, consultations, prescriptions, diagnostic investigations and payments for services such as CT and MRI scans
- Technology partner
- The BMC has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fractal
- Implementation challenge
- Multiple patients and substantial background noise in busy government hospitals
- Related civic service
- An SMS-based system is being introduced for birth and death certificate applications