(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: National Digital Health Mission & Data Compliance

Topic: National Digital Health Mission & Data Compliance

Guest:

R. K. Srivastava, (Former Director General, Health Services, GoI)
D. K. Aggarwal, (President, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry)
Jiten Jain, (Digital Technology Expert)

Topic Description:

On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to give every Indian citizen a unique health ID as part of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), which will digitise health records as well as provide a registry of doctors and health facilities. The decision has immense potential to change India’s health infrastructure, while also raising concerns over privacy and efficient implementation. To begin with, the health ID will undoubtedly give a much-needed technological impetus to a sector that has long been found wanting, more so amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. However, unlike Aadhar, the health ID isn’t mandatory and is only one of the components of the Mission, which the government reckons will go a long way in providing universal health coverage to over 1.3 billion people. The NDHM has been rolled out on a pilot mode in six Union Territories. It comprises six areas, including health ID, DigiDoctor, health facility registry, personal health records, e-pharmacy, and telemedicine.