Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

Over 28,300 hospitals of which 46 per cent are private have been empanelled so far under the scheme. Of the total 3.8 crore hospital admission under the scheme, 46 per cent were in government-run hospitals. Fifty-two per cent of the total admissions were male. While 27 per cent of the total patients admitted to hospitals were between 45 and 59 years old, 24 per cent were in the age group of 3-44 years

National Health Authority, CEO, Dr RS Sharma also informed that Aarogya Setu is now being repurposed as India’s health application. CoWIN, Covid19 vaccination portal is being repurposed for national immunization program and as a health management information system for small doctors

New Delhi:

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday stated that the country has achieved another milestone in its digital health journey.

The Health Minister informed that Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has crossed the landmark of 1 crore digitally linked health records with over 27 lakh records linked in a day.

“India achieves another milestone in its digital health journey. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission crosses the landmark of 1 crore digitally linked health records with over 27 lakh records linked in a day,” tweeted Mandaviya.

The government aims to deliver 10 lakh Ayushman Bharat cards everyday under its flagship health insurance scheme AB PM-JAY, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Sunday while highlighting that 3.95 crore admissions amounting to Rs 45,294 crore have been done so far under it.

Nineteen crore beneficiaries have Ayushman Bharat cards so far, he said.

‘Earlier 1-1.5 lakh Ayushman cards were made daily, now 4-5 lakh are made daily, my target is to make 10 lakh cards everyday,” Mandaviya said while inaugurating the “Arogya Manthan 2022” to celebrate four years of implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri–Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and one year of implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

Stressing on making healthcare more affordable & accessible, he said under the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission(ABDM), about Rs 100 crore will be spent in every district to strengthen the health infrastructure of the country.

Over 28,300 hospitals of which 46 per cent are private have been empanelled so far under the scheme. Of the total 3.8 crore hospital admission under the scheme, 46 per cent were in government-run hospitals. Fifty-two per cent of the total admissions were male. While 27 per cent of the total patients admitted to hospitals were between 45 and 59 years old, 24 per cent were in the age group of 3-44 years.

Speaking on the occasion Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pravin Pawar hailed the scheme. “PM-JAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) is the largest health care scheme in the world. Our healthcare system is evolving like never before,” said Pawar.

National Health Authority, CEO, Dr RS Sharma, highlighted the progress of Ayushman Bharat. “NHA has created robust and interoperable infrastructure through the two pillars of Ayushman Bharat, prepared to scale up for a population of 1.4 billion and be replicated across the world,” said Sharma.

He also informed that Aarogya Setu is now being repurposed as India’s health application. “CoWIN, Covid19 vaccination portal is being repurposed for national immunization program and as a health management information system for small doctors,” he added.

Implementations of all of these initiatives have resulted in immense learnings for NHA which were shared during the event.

Lauding the improvement in the nation’s infrastructure as the AB PM-JAY completed its 4 years, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “India has made significant progress over last 8 yrs in terms of connectivity – close to 1.5 lakh villages are already connected with high-quality fibre connection; good data speeds available in villages.”

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. It will bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of the Healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.

On February 26, 2022, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the national rollout of the Central Sector Scheme, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with a budget of Rs 1,600 crores for five years.

The National Health Authority (NHA) will be the implementing agency of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

Since its launch in September 2021, the ABDM has achieved significant growth with over 24 crore ABHA numbers (earlier known as Health ID), 1.50 lakh health facilities registered in the Health Facility Registry (HFR), over 80,00 healthcare professionals under the Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR), 7,11, 571 ABHA app downloads and 1,10,89,509 health records linked to ABHA of individuals, Dr R S Sharma, CEO of the National Health Authority said.

For digitisation of old health records, individuals can use the ABHA app or any other personal health record (PHR) app to scan and save their records. By linking these digital records to their ABHA, individuals will be able to connect with professionals and facilities digitally and get quality and affordable health services irrespective of geographic distance.

Digital health solutions across the healthcare ecosystem have proven to be of immense benefit over the years, with CoWIN, Arogya Setu and e-Sanjeevani further demonstrating the role technology can play in enabling access to healthcare.

However, there is a need to integrate such solutions for the continuum of care, and effective utilization of resources. 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 (ABDM) is creating 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.

Under the ABDM, citizens will be able to create their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) numbers, to which their digital health records can be linked. This will enable the creation of longitudinal health records for individuals across various healthcare providers, and improve clinical decision-making by healthcare providers.

The mission will improve equitable access to quality healthcare by encouraging use of technologies such as telemedicine and enabling national portability of health services, the ministry said. The pilot of ABDM was completed in the six Union Territories of Ladakh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep with a successful demonstration of the technology platform developed by the NHA.

During the pilot test, digital sandbox was created in which more than 774 partner solutions are undergoing integration.

As on February 24, 2022, 17,33,69,087 Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts have been created and 10,114 doctors and 17,319 health facilities have been registered in ABDM.

Not only will ABDM facilitate evidence-based decision-making for effective public health interventions, but it will also catalyze innovation and generate employment across the healthcare ecosystem.