Punjab Health Department is preparing to launch a dedicated identification portal to help government hospitals maintain and share information on unidentified patients and unclaimed bodies, with the aim of making it easier for police and families to establish their identity.The portal is expected to be made available to the public by September. According to hospital officials, the database will contain photographs and details such as a person’s physical appearance, clothing, identifying marks, possible name, treatment status and ward. In the case of unclaimed bodies, information about where the body was found and how it reached the hospital will also be recorded.The system will provide separate login access to police officials, allowing them to search records from different districts and states. Families will also be able to access information on unidentified patients and bodies online, according to officials.Hospital authorities said the initiative could be particularly useful in cases involving accident victims who may belong to another district or state. At present, identifying such patients or deceased persons often requires coordination between hospitals, police departments and families.Officials at Jalandhar Civil Hospital said that the unidentified bodies can be kept in the Civil Hospital mortuary for 72 hours. After receiving any such body, we inform the police department so that efforts can be made to trace the family. But in some cases, even this duration is insufficient, especially in accident cases where the patient may belong to another district.Civil Surgeon Dr Rajesh Garg said doctors and other staff have been given training to operate the portal. He said the system would be available at government run hospitals where post-mortems are conducted and would help in tracing families of unidentified patients and unclaimed bodies.