How will national digital health ecosystem benefit patients?

The new ecosystem will create interoperability within the digital health ecosystem, similar to the role played by the Unified Payments Interface in revolutionising payments. Citizens will only be a click-away from accessing healthcare facilities

The central government has initiated a commendable step towards further fuelling digitization in Indian healthcare. In what can be termed as an ambitious scheme which can play a crucial role in transforming the way healthcare is delivered in the country, the central government has announced the roll out of an open platform for the national digital health ecosystem. Announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of her Budget speech on February 1, the proposed platform for the national digital health ecosystem will include digital registries of health professionals and facilities, a unique health identity for each individual, and help strengthen the foundation of universal access to healthcare facilities.

It will not be an exaggeration to opine here that this completely technology-based initiative will revolutionize the healthcare sector in the country. The scheme will create a digital infrastructure for healthcare delivery, which will include personal health IDs and e-records for citizens. Under this digital ecosystem, the health records of all the citizens of the country will be stored and shared online, of course with their consent, for all the healthcare needs. Under this health project, every citizen will get a digital health ID and their health record will be digitally protected. Primarily, it is aimed at 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.

The proposed Ecosystem will greatly facilitate tele-medicine, e-pharmacy, and collection, consolidation and inter-operability of health data. Besides, it will also allow patients to access health services remotely through tele-consultation and e-pharmacies, as well as offer other health-related benefits. The new system will make sure the fragmented ecosystem of providers and insurers can now come together and work more efficiently. This will allow for more standardization across the ecosystem, predicting healthcare demand and supply much better. The digitized interoperable health ecosystem will put patients at the centrestage and will provide power in their hands in the form of unique ID for availing quality care and gaining better access to healthcare facilities and doctors.

The new ecosystem is also likely to be extended to include pharmacies and medical stores into the servers as well, in the future. Besides, the new ecosystem will enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent. The key components of new system will 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. This will ensure ease of doing business for doctors/hospitals and healthcare service providers.

As part of the new national digital health ecosystem, a digital mission sandbox will be created which will act as a framework for technology and product testing that will help organizations, including private players, intending to be a part of national digital health ecosystem, become a health information provider or health information user. The new ecosystem will create interoperability within the digital health ecosystem, similar to the role played by the Unified Payments Interface in revolutionising payments. Citizens will only be a click-away from accessing healthcare facilities.

Definitely, this is a step in right direction in getting the ecosystem of providers, insurance and digital health players to work together and make Indian healthcare accessible, affordable, and patient-centric. And more importantly, this digitization effort could not have come at a more appropriate time than this when people are realizing the true potential of digital healthcare on the back of the scenario created due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

(The author is freelance journalist with varied experience in different fields)