Doctors At BHU’s Institute Of Medical Sciences Develop Unique App For Patient Convenience
Kashi Plus application allows the patients to find answers to all their questions including those about hospital doctors, outpatient department (OPD) timings, test schedules etc
Published : January 10, 2026 at 4:23 PM IST
Varanasi: Doctors at the Institute of Medical Sciences at Banaras Hindu University (IMS-BHU) have developed a unique platform for the convenience of the patients. It took them four years to develop the Kashi Plus (Kashi+) application that allows the patients to find answers to all their questions, including those about hospital doctors, outpatient department (OPD) timings, test schedules, specification of hospital counters and timings for availability of test reports.
The app has been developed at a cost of Rs 10 lakh, and it provides several benefits to the patients free of cost. The app provides information not only about IMS-BHU but also about all the major government hospitals in the Varanasi district. After its successful launch, there are plans to make it available in all the major government hospitals in Lucknow as well.
Dr Kamlesh Chauhan of IMS-BHU pointed out that he came across the problems faced by the patients while pursuing his MBBS.
“Around 8,000 to 10,000 people visit the Hospital daily, which covers three to four states. The patients would arrive at the Hospital, not knowing whether a doctor was available or not. Patients who come from far away often lack information about these things. They have Ayushman cards and are covered under many schemes, but they lack information. Often, Hospitals don't even promote these services so they can take advantage of them,” he explained.
He went on to state, “I thought of creating an application keeping all these things in mind. With the help of IIT-BHU students, we have created this Kashi Plus application. It is mainly addressing the needs of the patients at Sir Sundarlal Hospital along with Trauma Centre, Kabir Chaura Hospital, Ramnagar Hospital and Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital."
Dr Chauhan claimed that the branch of the Tata Memorial Cancer Institute is also included under the app, and so far, around 10,000 people have downloaded it.
“We launched its pilot project during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we want to expand it to other hospitals so that more people can benefit from its services. This app will provide information about the nearest Government Hospital and help people decide which hospital to go to,” he said.
After hearing about the patients’ problem, the app is used to guide them to which department they have to go to, at what time, what tests they need to undergo and when they will get the results.
“The patient is given all the information from the beginning to the end. A patient is also conveyed if he has to be admitted,” Dr Chauhan said.
He disclosed that a pilot project was initiated three years ago, but the application was implemented after another year.
The app is being managed by a team of around 20 people.
Meanwhile, Dr Shivani Dogra, a co-founder of the Kashi+ app, said, "Our future plan is to add three major hospitals of Lucknow to this. It will also be installed in SGPGI, KGMU and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. About 200 to 300 patients are visiting the app daily.”
