The database will ensure ease of doing business for doctors/hospitals and healthcare service providers.
The Union Cabinet on Saturday approved nationwide roll-out of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) with an outlay of Rs 1,600 crore for five years. The scheme, launched in September last year in certain parts of the country, facilitates creation of health IDs for all citizens 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. The database will ensure ease of doing business for doctors/hospitals and healthcare service providers.
Among the several objectives of the mission is to give low-income population access to non-government healthcare facilities. ABDM is expected to enable creation of longitudinal health records for individuals and improve clinical decision-making by healthcare providers, encourage use of technologies such as telemedicine and enable national portability of health services.
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The scheme, which will be based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his independence day address in 2020.
Digital health solutions across healthcare ecosystem have proven to be of immense benefit over the years, with CoWIN, Arogya Setu and eSanjeevani further demonstrating the role technology can play in enabling access to healthcare. However, there is a need to integrate such solutions for continuum of care, and effective utilisation of resources, the government statement said.
The pilot of ABDM was earlier 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 successful demonstration of technology platform developed by the NHA, the statement said.
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During the pilot, digital sandbox was created in which more than 774 partner solutions are undergoing integration. As on February 24 this year, 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 catalyse innovation and generate employment across the healthcare ecosystem, the statement added.
