All You Need To Know About 'Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission on 27 September. The inauguration announcement was made via video conferencing, and Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya was also present at the event.

The mission's nationwide deployment coincides with the National Health Authority's (NHA) third anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).

PM Modi announced the project, also known as the Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission or the National Digital Health Mission, during his Independence Day speech in 2020 from the ramparts of the Red Fort. It has been implemented in a pilot phase in six union territories, according to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Modi on 26 September said in a tweet: "This Mission leverages technology to improve access to healthcare and opens doors for new innovation in the sector."

Meanwhile, Mandaviya also said in a tweet: "This Mission will create a seamless online platform to enable information-sharing within the digital health ecosystem. Citizens will be able to access health facilities conveniently."

According to the Health Minister, the project's three main components are a citizen's health ID, a healthcare professionals registry, and healthcare facility registries.

Mandaviya said: "This will ensure ease of doing business by citizens and healthcare service providers. Now health is just a click away!"

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission: Key Facts

According to a news release, based on the foundations established by the government's Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will create a seamless online platform by providing a wide range of data, information, and infrastructure services while leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems.

It noted that "the Mission will enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent".

"This will ensure ease of doing business for doctors/hospitals and healthcare service providers," the release added.

As part of the Mission, an Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Sandbox will be built. The Sandbox will serve as a framework for technology and product testing, assisting organisations, including private players, that want to join the National Digital Health Ecosystem as a Health Information Provider or Health Information User, or efficiently connect with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission's building blocks.

The release said: "This Mission will create interoperability within the digital health ecosystem, similar to the role played by the Unified Payments Interface in revolutionising payments. Citizens will only be a click-away from accessing healthcare facilities."

During the launch of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission on 27 September, PM Modi said that in the past seven years, the campaign to strengthen the health facilities of the country is now entering into a new phase. “A mission is starting today, which has the power to revolutionise healthcare in India,” he added.

The PM said: “130 crore Aadhaar numbers, 118 crore mobile subscribers, about 80 crore internet users, about 43 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts, there is no such big connected infrastructure anywhere in the world. This digital infrastructure is taking the ration from the administration to the common Indian in a fast, transparent manner.”

Modi explained that PM JAY's Ayushman Bharat initiative has alleviated a major source of concerns for the underprivileged. More than 20 million citizens have benefited from free treatment under this scheme so far, he added.

According to him, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will now connect the digital health solutions of hospitals across the country with each other. Under this mission, the citizens will now get a digital health ID and everyone's health record will be digitally protected, he noted.

“Now work is going on in India on such a health model, which is holistic and inclusive. Unprecedented reforms are also taking place in medical education to transform India's health sector. Today more doctors and paramedical manpower are being prepared in the country than before in 7-8 years,” he said.

As per the PM, the idea is that all citizens of India should have access to a health model that emphasises disease prevention, i.e. preventative healthcare, as well as treatment in the case of illness.