 Early Times Report
NEW DELHI, June 29: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare & Chemicals and Fertilizers, Jagat Prakash Nadda today launched a series of digital health initiatives aimed at strengthening India's Digital Public Infrastructure for Health and accelerating the adoption of interoperable digital health solutions across the country.
Dignitaries who attended the event included Prataprao Jadhav, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of AYUSH; Anupriya Patel, Union Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare; Dr. M. Srinivas, Member (Health), NITI Aayog; Dr. Manik Saha, Chief Minister, Tripura; Rajendra Shukla, Deputy Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh; Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh; Punya Salila Srivastava, Union Health Secretary; Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research and DG, ICMR and Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO, National Health Authority.
The digital initiatives launched today include Aarogya Setu 2.0, Ayushman App, Ayushman Sarathi WhatsApp Chatbot, National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX), Insurance Plan FHIR Object Creator, e-Sushrut Clinic, Unified Health Interface (UHI), Drug Registry, Common LOINC Codes for India (CLCI) and Bharat Health Terminology Service (BHTS). Developed under the aegis of the National Health Authority (NHA) and National Resource Centre for EHR Standards (NRCeS), these initiatives aim to improve accessibility, efficiency and continuity of care while enabling seamless exchange of health information across the healthcare ecosystem.
Addressing the gathering, the Union Health Minister described the occasion as "a significant milestone in India's journey towards building a healthier nation through digital innovation." He stated that "under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government has continuously expanded the scope of healthcare through transformative initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat, while strengthening linkages across primary, secondary and tertiary levels of care". He remarked that the launch of these digital health initiatives marks another important step towards making healthcare more integrated, accessible and citizen-centric.
Highlighting the remarkable progress of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), Nadda noted that with over 90 crore ABHA accounts created and more than 100 crore health records linked, India today has one of the world's largest digital health ecosystems. He also underlined the growing role of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare, citing the launch of AI-enabled initiatives such as SAHI and BODHI to support better healthcare delivery. Emphasizing that digitalization is no longer an option but a necessity, he said that the newly launched citizen-centric, connected and proactive digital platforms bring previously fragmented health services onto a single integrated platform. He further noted that the revamped Aarogya Setu application will enable people of all age groups - from mothers and children to youth, the elderly and those living with chronic illnesses - to seamlessly access a wide range of health services.
Calling upon States and Union Territories to actively implement these initiatives, Shri Nadda emphasized that while health is a State subject and the Union Government provides policy direction and digital infrastructure, their success ultimately depends on effective implementation at the State level. He thanked the States and Union Territories for their continued support in advancing the digital health agenda and urged them to further strengthen these efforts to realise the vision of a healthier and digitally empowered India, contributing towards the goal of Viksit Bharat@2047. |
