Digitization across sectors, flows and processes is defining today’s India. It has revolutionized delivery and in a very short span of time, has transformed the large Indian population to a digital way of life. Now is the time for India to take advantage of this change to reform healthcare across the country.
With the deeper penetration of technology and internet, Big Data is helping to shape India’s future. The government, with its clear mandate, is stepping up its efforts to ensure that marginalized groups are not left untouched by digitization and can fully exploit its advantages.
After a series of policy changes and the introduction of digital technologies, both at government level and with models such as public-private partnership, the positive results are already visible on the ground. They are experienced and appreciated by the citizens because they not only make life much easier, but also provide the much-needed freedom of time. A case in point is the digital financial transactions and the introduction of digital wallets, UPI and other finance/banking apps that have not only replaced our physical wallets but have completely changed the way we pay today. Even if the critics may have their opinions, digitization is having a lasting impact on everyone’s life today.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission: The Healthcare Sector’s UPI
After the launch of India’s biggest game changer in healthcare, the Ayushman Bharat Health Scheme, the government has given the right impetus for the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). This promises to be a major step towards the digitization of healthcare services and records, and many are even calling it the UPI of healthcare that will change the sector forever. This is the first and extremely important step in standardizing the process of identifying an individual across healthcare providers. At the same time, it is seen as the only way to ensure that the medical records produced are issued to the right person or accessed by health information users with appropriate consent. Delivering UHID and maintaining detailed digital health records that can be accurately and easily updated across multiple systems and stakeholders will be key to the program’s success.
India can show how data interoperability can help heal the world
Data interoperability is a hurdle that governments around the world have long stared at. For experts, it is very obvious that this crucial challenge needs to be addressed in the most innovative way. This is where Ayushman Bharat fits like a glove. The open participation of both the private sector and government entities and the adoption of new age technologies will make the system not only seamless but also one of the most credible and trusted in the world. As a leading stakeholder in this area, we are really excited to see how the Indian government envisions this data exchange platform. We need to develop innovative products that provide state-of-the-art solutions to help physicians onboard patient records and access them in real time. This standardization of paperless data and real-time patient records will enable a doctor to have a 360-degree view of the patient and provide better care.
Transforming the Patient and Physician Experience
By integrating with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission through the built technical stack, technology platforms can show the doctor a complete patient profile even if the patient has visited multiple facilities or has a very different medical history.
By ensuring a constant focus and moving beyond pilot projects, the government is now resolutely turning its focus to introducing new-age technologies that can scale up the project and help deliver benefits that exceed expectations. With the adoption of technologies like EMRs, we can enable data entry and information retrieval from the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Tech Stack, providing a strong foundation and means to accelerate adoption phenomenally. The joint mission is to drive the adoption of EMR (Electronic Medical Record) in India, which involves a lot of data entry and therefore requires the delivery of a seamless and excellent voice user interface.
