Every India to Get Unique Health ID under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

The government of India has launched Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission that seeks to provide a unique digital health ID to every Indian. The digital ID will contain all the health records of person. The Mission aims to create a seamless online platform to enable information-sharing within the digital health ecosystem.

“Today we are launching a mission that has the potential of bringing a revolutionary change in India’s health facilities,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after launching the Mission through a video conference on 27 September.

Through the digital health ID, the patient himself and the doctor can also check the old records if needed. Moreover, there will also be registration of doctors, nurses and paramedics. All the hospitals, clinics, labs, chemist shops in the country will also be registered.

The unique health ID would be like health account of every individual. Through this ID personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application. Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) and Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR) that will act as a repository of all healthcare providers across both modern and traditional systems of medicine.

The unique health ID would be like health account of every individual. Through this ID personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application. Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) and Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR) that will act as a repository of all healthcare providers across both modern and traditional systems of medicine. It will enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent.

The Prime Minister first announced the scheme during his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort on 15 August 2020. Before the national rollout, the project was first implemented in the pilot phase in six Union Territories. The national rollout of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission came on the day that marks the third anniversary of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).

Elaborating on the Digital Mission, Modi said Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will connect the digital health solutions of hospitals across the country with each other. The Mission will not only make the processes of hospitals simplified but also will increase ease of living, he added.  “Under this, every citizen will now get a digital health ID and their health record will be digitally protected.”

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will connect the digital health solutions of hospitals across the country with each other. The Mission will not only make the processes of hospitals simplified but also will increase ease of living, he added.

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

The Prime Minister said India is working on a health model that is holistic and inclusive. A model which stresses preventive healthcare and, in case of disease, easy, affordable and accessible treatment.

He also discussed unprecedented reforms in health education and said a much larger number of doctors and par medical manpower is being created in India now as compared to 7-8 years ago. A comprehensive network of AIIMS and other modern health institutions is being established in the country and work on establishing one medical college in every three Lok Sabha constituencies is going on. He also talked about strengthening health facilities in villages and informed that in the villages, primary health centre networks and wellness centres are being strengthened. More than 80 thousand such centres have already been operationalised, said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister underlined the fact that with 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 bringing everything from ration to administration (Ration to Prashasan) to the common Indian in a fast and transparent manner.

“The way technology is being deployed in governance reforms today is unprecedented,” said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister remarked that the Arogya Setu app helped a lot in preventing the spread of Corona infection. He lauded Co-WIN for its role in making India achieve a record administration of about 90 crore vaccine doses today, under the free vaccine campaign. Continuing with the theme of the use of technology in health, the Prime Minister said that there has also been an unprecedented expansion of telemedicine during the Corona period. So far about 125 crore remote consultations have been completed through e-Sanjeevani. This facility is connecting thousands of countrymen living in far-flung parts of the country every day with doctors of big hospitals of cities while sitting at home.