Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, under which a 14-digit health ID will be provided to people that will contain their health records, and asserted that it has the potential to bring revolutionary changes in healthcare.
In his address after the launch, Modi said the mission marks a new phase in efforts of the last seven years to strengthen health facilities. The pilot project of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission was announced by the prime minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, 2020.
Currently, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is being implemented in a pilot phase in six union territories. Its nationwide roll-out coincides with the National Health Authority celebrating the third anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). The prime minister noted that India has nearly 130 crore Aadhaar users, 118 crore mobile subscribers, 43 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts, and such a connected infrastructure can be found nowhere else in the world.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will provide reliable data, leading to better treatment and ensuring savings for patients, he said. The prime minister said that under the mission, people of the country will now get a digital health ID. Emphasizing on the importance of technology, the prime minister pointed out that the Aarogya Setu app helped a lot in preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection.
Based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will create a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal information, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The key components of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission include a health ID for every citizen that will also work as their health account, to which personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application, a 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.
