What is National Digital Health Mission? Know all about new Health ID, Health Account!

National Digital Health Mission: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of National Digital Health Mission on August 15, 2020 during his speech on India's 74th Independence Day. With the launch of the historic mission, every Indian will soon have a digital health account.

The National Digital Health Mission will enable every Indian citizen to have a unique health account to enable hassle-free access to healthcare across the country.

The mission will be a "completely technology-based" initiative and it is expected to revolutionise the health sector.

What is National Digital Health Mission?

Under the National Digital Health Mission, every Indian will get a Health ID card that will work as a health account comprising information regarding the person's past medical conditions, treatment and diagnosis.

Health ID/ Health Account

The Health ID will contain every disease, every test and all doctors visited along with the results of the diagnostic tests and the medicines prescribed. 

National Digital Health Mission: Key Features

• Under National Digital Health Mission, every Indian will get a Health ID card that will store all medical details of the person including prescriptions, treatment, diagnostic reports and discharge summaries. 

• The citizens will be able to give their doctors and health providers one-time access to this data during visits to the hospital for consultation.

• However, access to the confidential medical data will have to be given separately for each visit due to fears over data confidentiality.

• The National Digital Health Mission will allow patients to access health services remotely through tele-consultation and e-pharmacies, as well as offer other health-related benefits.

• The mission will be launched through a pilot launch in UTs including Puducherry, Chandigarh, Ladakh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. 

• After analysing the initial learnings from the launch in the Union Territories, the centre will work to launch the mission in the states as well. 

How will Health ID cards work?

Every time an Indian citizen visits the doctor or a pharmacy, all details including prescriptions will be logged in the health ID card. This will enable all information regarding the person's health, right from the doctor's appointment to the advised medication, to be logged in his/ her health profile.

The Health ID will contain information about every single test, every disease, diagnosis, treatment and the medicines prescribed by the doctor prescribed and final reports.

Background 

The Indian Government's increased focus on tele-medicine and digital health services comes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was taken India and the world by storm, infecting nearly 25 lakh people in India alone, among whom 48000 have lost their lives.

The National Digital Health Mission comes under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). Union health minister Harsh Vardhan had launched the blueprint of the mission in July 2019 seeking inputs from various stakeholders.

Also read: National Digital Health Blueprint