Tamil Nadu will add a medicine slot booking facility to Nalam AI, its WhatsApp-based digital health service, so patients can choose a time to collect prescribed medicines from government hospital pharmacies. Health and Family Welfare Minister K.G. Arunraj announced the plan on 1 November 2026, saying it would be implemented shortly to ease the morning rush at pharmacy counters.

The move extends a platform the state introduced in July 2026 alongside the Nalam TN portal for digital healthcare delivery. It shifts Nalam AI from outpatient registration towards managing one of the most crowded points in a public hospital visit: the wait for drugs after consultation.

How Nalam AI medicine slot booking will work

Speaking to reporters at the airport on Sunday, the minister said the Health Department was responding to complaints about long waiting times at hospital pharmacies. Under the planned feature, beneficiaries will book a slot in advance through Nalam AI and arrive at the hospital at the allotted time to pick up their medicines.

“Most patients visit government hospitals between 8 am and 10 am to collect medicines, resulting in overcrowding and delays,” Arunraj said, as reported by DT Next. He added that advance booking would prevent congestion and remove unnecessary waiting.

The state has not yet announced which hospitals will get the feature first or a launch date.

What Nalam AI already offers patients

According to National Health Mission Tamil Nadu, Nalam AI is a WhatsApp chatbot launched by the Health Department in July 2026 to digitise access to government healthcare services, as part of the wider Nalam TN initiative. At launch, the Health Department said the first phase covered 22 districts and allowed patients to:

• Generate outpatient (OP) tickets before reaching the hospital
• Book appointments in select departments, starting at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai
• Receive prescriptions and laboratory reports on WhatsApp

Aadhaar is optional, family members can register on a patient’s behalf with OTP verification, and walk-in registration continues alongside the digital route.

Why it matters for public hospital queues

Most digital front-door projects in Indian public hospitals target registration, as Haryana did with e-Upchar OPD pre-registration and UPI payments. Pharmacy queues are a separate bottleneck: patients who have finished consultation often wait again for free medicines. Spreading pickups across the day could help pharmacy teams plan dispensing, shorten crowding in waiting areas and give the state data on daily demand at each counter.

The feature also fits Tamil Nadu’s wider digital health push, which includes five planned super speciality telemedicine hubs for rural health facilities and a ₹23,357 crore health allocation covering digital health and specialist care.

Other announcements: Tambaram, dengue and food safety

• Tambaram medical college: the government is considering upgrading Tambaram District Government Hospital into a medical college, a proposal to be discussed with Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay before any formal announcement.
• Dengue: the minister said the situation is under control, with house-to-house larva source reduction and hospitals told to monitor fever cases closely.
• Food street: the state’s first Healthy and Hygienic Food Street opened on Race Course Road in Tiruchy, modelled on regulated food outlets in Tirupati.

Key takeaways

• Nalam AI will let patients book a time slot to collect medicines at government hospital pharmacies.
• The aim is to cut the 8 am to 10 am rush; the minister said it will be rolled out shortly.
• Nalam AI already handles OP tickets, select appointments, prescriptions and lab reports on WhatsApp.

FAQ: Nalam AI medicine slot booking

What is Nalam AI?

Nalam AI is the Tamil Nadu Health Department’s WhatsApp-based chatbot for government hospital services, launched in July 2026 under the Nalam TN initiative.

When will medicine slot booking start?

Minister K.G. Arunraj said on 1 November 2026 that it would be implemented shortly; no date or list of hospitals has been announced yet.

Featured image: Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai. Photo: VtTN via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

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