PM Modi to announce rollout of Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission on Sept 27

On Monday, September 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce the nationwide rollout of the Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission (PM-DHM) which was earlier known as the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM). According to the officials, PM-DHM is aimed to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and transparency of healthcare coverage in India, through healthcare data.

PM-DHM seeks to create national digital health infrastructure facilities including health IDs, unique identifiers for doctors and health facilities, personal health records, telemedicine, and e-pharmacy. With the availability of a wide range of data, information, and infrastructure services, a national digital health ecosystem will be created under the flagship scheme. The programme will ensure the security, confidentiality, and privacy of health-related personal information. 

Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission

A country-wide digital health ecosystem will be created by digitalising healthcare to enable patients to store, access and consent to share their health records with doctors and health facilities of their choice. Andaman & Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry, were the six Union Territories where the pilot scheme was earlier implemented. 

National Telemedicine Service

India’s National Telemedicine Service, eSanjeevani, has conducted 1.2 crores consultations and is shaping into the country’s most popular and largest telemedicine service. As of now, the National Telemedicine Service every day provides consultation service to nearly 90,000 patients across the country connecting a wide range of patients to doctors, and specialists. According to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare’s order, eSanjeevani is functional via two modes — eSanjeevani AB-HWC and eSanjeevaniOPD.

National Telemedicine Service is bridging the digital health divide between urban and rural India by addressing the shortage of doctors and specialists at the ground level and further reducing the burden on secondary and tertiary level hospitals. The digital health ecosystem in the country is boosted through the National Digital Health Mission.

An indigenous telemedicine technology, e-Sanjeevani was developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Mohali that provides end-to-end services. Considering the COVID pandemic situation in India, the initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is being augmented further to enable 500,000 consultations per day.

(Image: PIB)