National Digital Health Mission

• National Digital Health Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2020 while addressing the nation from the Red Fort to mark the occasion of India's 74th Independence Day.
• It is a part of National Digital Health Blueprint launched in 2019.
• National Digital Health Mission will be a "completely technology-based" initiative. According to the Prime Minister, the initiative will revolutionise the health sector.
• Under the National Digital Health Mission, every Indian will get a Health ID card that will contain all relevant information about his/her past medical conditions, treatment and diagnosis.
• Since launch, the digital modules and registries have been developed and the mission has been rolled out in six Union Territories.
• So far, nearly 11.9 lakh Health IDs have been generated and 3106 doctors and 1490 facilities have registered on the platform.

What is National Digital Health Mission?

• National Digital Health Mission aims to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of health services in the country. It comes under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).

Features

• Under National Digital Health Mission, every Indian will get a Health ID card that will store all medical details of the person including prescriptions, treatment, diagnostic reports and discharge summaries.
• The citizens will be able to give their doctors and health providers one-time access to this data during visits to the hospital for consultation.
• However, access to the confidential medical data will have to be given separately for each visit due to fears over data confidentiality.
• The National Digital Health Mission will allow patients to access health services remotely through tele-consultation and e-pharmacies, as well as offer other health-related benefits.

How will Health ID cards work?

• Every time an Indian citizen visits the doctor or a pharmacy, all details including prescriptions will be logged in the health ID card.
• This will enable all information regarding the person's health, right from the doctor's appointment to the advised medication, to be logged in his/ her health profile.
• The Health ID will contain information about every single test, every disease, diagnosis, treatment and the medicines prescribed by the doctor prescribed and final reports.

What is Universal Health Interface?

• It has been envisaged that Unified Health Interface (UHI) - an open and interoperable IT network for digital health should soon be rolled out.
• This interface shall enable public and private solutions and apps to plug in and be a part of National Digital Health Ecosystem. It will allow users to search, book and avail necessary healthcare services such as tele-consultations or laboratory tests.
• The system will ensure that only verified healthcare providers join the ecosystem.
• This is likely to unleash a digital health tech revolution with innovations and various services for citizens.
• In such a manner, healthcare infrastructure and human resources can also be utilised in a more efficient manner across the nation.
• The concept of UPI e-Voucher developed by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) was also in discussions. This digital payment option will enable financial transactions linked to specific purpose which can be used only by the intended user. It can be useful for targeted and efficient delivery of various government schemes and an immediate use cases of UPI e-Voucher could be healthcare services.

Analysis of National Digital Health Mission: click here