Why India’s Digital Health Mission is a big deal

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant disruption in healthcare. It has forced changes in the patient’s behaviour and led to the government becoming more flexible in healthcare regulations.

If you haven’t heard of India’s National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), it is a digital health initiative set up by our Prime Minister last year. The scheme consists of four essential blocks — unique digital health ID, healthcare professionals registry, health facility registry and electronic health records. This has been launched in six states and Union Territories on a pilot basis.

The Unique Health ID will be a 14 digit unique health identification number that will contain all the health-related information of an individual. The national health ID will be a repository of all the person's health information. It will enable access and sharing of health records after necessary consent. This health account will contain every lab test, condition, doctor visit, medication and diagnosis. The information will be beneficial as it is portable and easily accessible even if the patient shifts to a new place and visits a new doctor. Even healthcare providers and facilities such as doctors, hospitals, labs, imaging centres, and pharmacies can register, creating a vast data repository. It would help individuals find health services digitally and with ease.

NDHM can help India develop a universal healthcare system based on electronic health records (EHRs), and e-Health Centres. Having control of their data through the EHRs will empower patients and quickly identify what is in their best interest. Availability of longitudinal EHRs will make it easier for doctors and healthcare workers to get a good, and customised view of everyone’s journey. If this can be successfully executed, we can have a vast health data repository that can act as a resource pool for digital therapeutics and machine learning applications. With such a large pool of data, several analytics can be run that would enable us to make predictions and help in evidence-based policymaking.

The first objective of the scheme is to create a digital environment for healthcare via these four blocks. At a later stage, the government plans to integrate telemedicine and e-pharmacies.

However, a good chunk of our population doesn't have access to smartphones or the internet, making it difficult to come on board. The government has prioritised this in their pilot phase to prevent a digital divide. ASHA workers with tablets would visit the rural areas and collect the necessary information from individuals. They would also help them connect to a nearby healthcare facility ensuring access to care.

It would also be interesting to see how private companies can partner to execute the program. Many technology companies have the tools for analytics, digital consultation, e-pharmacies and interoperability among healthcare resources.

Having such a data platform will put India at the forefront with other giants in the digital healthcare space, such as the US, UK, China and South Korea. China is one leading country in digital healthcare and is one of the leaders in Artificial Intelligence in the Healthcare space. The NDHM will help India compete with other nations already using digital tools to make informed decisions. The mission will also bring together a more robust public-private partnership model currently lacking.

Overall, the NDHM is a step forward in the right direction to ensure quality care, coverage, better access to healthcare, all while keeping the citizens at the heart of the mission.