National Digital Health Mission, India’s fi rst step
towards UHC

Context:

On the occasion of 74th Independence Day, the Government announced a national health ID for every India. The development is envisioned as India’s fi rst step towards ‘Universal Health Coverage’.

The National Digital Health Mission

• The National Digital Health Mission is a digital health ecosystem under which every Indian citizen will now have unique health IDs, digitised health records with identifi ers for doctors and health facilities.
• National Health Authority (NHA), the attached offi ce of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the apex Central Government agency responsible for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, has been given the mandate by the Government of India to design, build, roll-out and implement the NDHM in the country.
• It is an ambitious plan to create a digital infrastructure for health care delivery, which will include personal health IDs and e-records for citizens.
• Building blocks: The NDHM comprises six key building blocks or digital systems to enable access to timely, safe and affordable healthcare through a ‘citizen-centric’ approach, namely-
  • HealthID
  • DigiDoctor
  • Health Facility Registry
  • Personal Health Records
  • E-Pharmacy
  • Telemedicine
• The key feature of this mission is the technology part – it will leverage digital systems to provide high-quality healthcare for all.
• It will integrate various digital health services to create an ecosystem which can assimilate existing health information systems.

What is a Health ID?

• The health ID will contain information about medical data, prescriptions and diagnostic reports, and summaries of previous discharge from hospitals for ailments.
• Each Health ID will be linked to a health data consent manager — such as National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) — which will be used to seek the patient’s consent and allow for seamless fl ow of health information from the Personal Health Records module.

Will the Health ID be mandatory?

• The health ID will not be mandatory.
• Although the government hopes that the feature will attract more users to it since it allows a person online access to all their health records right from birth.

Where will the Health ID be applicable?

• The ID will reportedly be applicable across states, hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and pharmacies.
• According to its strategy document, the NDHM will pilot the mission in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, and Puducherry.

Categorisation of Health Data

The document categorises health data into three distinct layers.

• Electronic Medical Records (EMR) — This refers to systems that are used within a hospital or a clinic to support patient diagnosis and treatment and are transaction focused. NDHM requires these systems to be updated to support standards and provide access to patients’ data.
• Electronic Health Records (EHR) — EHRs contain records for a patient across multiple doctors and providers and is used within a Healthcare system (like say across a state government) to provide better care for patients.
• Personal Health Records (PHR) — PHRs enable patients to compile, update and keep a copy of their own records that can help them better manage their care and are person focused.
• It will not be possible to have access to digital health records without creation of a health ID.