Technology has immense potential to enable scale and efficiency, expressed Yasin M. Choudhary, Mission Director NHM, Jammu and Kashmir, at the 10th Elets Healthcare Innovation Summit held on 22-23 June. Edited excerpts:
“India will witness a transformation in access and affordability of healthcare via a digital health and telemedicine revolution powered by the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) ‘s digital infrastructure in the next three to four years, ” he said.
To develop a digital backbone for the health sector, Choudhary emphasised on adoption of the integrated model that will work in rural as well as urban areas. “It will also bridge the gap between the existing stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem through digital highways. The Inter Operable Platform that has been built by National Health Authority (NHA) is a category of digital highway,”
Commencing the inaugural session, he said, “We have had various technological advancements in the health sector at different points of time. Today, the Health Management Information System (HMIS) is a very basic thing that is seen in every hospital.”
Choudhary said, “When we talk about digital health, we need to have an end-to-end system that will enable us to do away with loads of papers in the name of medical records.”
Highlighting the importance of the HMIS system, he said it not just ensures the confidentiality of patient records but its portability too. “User access, user consent, and privacy play the role of a keystone in digital healthcare. Additionally, a system that is so robust that it must be applied from a remote district to an advanced tertiary care hospital.”
He also discussed Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as a system that enables digitisation or the provision for the same.
In the health system of the county there are many many service providers and consumers. Choudhary opined that collaboration between the same is needed.
Moreover, policy-makers should view and analyse public health at a national level, but policies should be effectively implemented at a local level
He further remarked, “Health data is the new gold. No other sort of data regarding a person or an organisation is as valuable as his/her health records.”
Source: ehealth.eletsonline.com
