PANAJI
The government of India is initiating a revolutionary step of Digital Health Mission on September 27 and stakeholders in the health sector have welcomed this initiative as it would benefit the public at large. A national digital health ecosystem will be created through the provision of a wide range of data, information, and infrastructure services under the scheme. “The Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission (PMDHM) is a welcome step by the government, as it will progress the journey to universal health coverage. It would also enhance transparency in care delivery as well as access to information for all stakeholders, which in turn could help lower the cost to patients,” stated Dilip Jose, MD and CEO, Manipal Health Enterprises. The scheme will be available to every citizen of the nation and under it a unique digital health ID will be provided to all containing their health records. The six Union Territories of India have begun working on the pilot scheme. The initiative also aims to create a nationwide digital health infrastructure to provide universal health coverage with health IDs for all citizens, unique identifiers for doctors and health facilities, personal health records, and telemedicine and e-pharmacy, among other components.
