The digitisation of healthcare has given birth to numerous tools and resources that greatly improve healthcare services. These include software that makes health information more accessible to patients and keeps patient data secure in one place. Coming are the days to bid adieu to the process when people had to wait for a phone call from their doctor just to hear their test results — thanks to advanced health information technology, and electronic health records (EHR).
Observing the digitisation in the healthcare sector globally, an initiative was launched by The Government of India known as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) which aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. It will bridge the information gap amongst different stakeholders of the Healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.
ABDM aims to fulfill its components as follows :
- Ayushman Bharat Health Account – commonly known as ABHA Address/ID/Card, is a lifetime card that holds all your health information digitally and is projected to be the biggest leap forward in implementing healthcare interoperability.IT in healthcare. From your medical history, fitness tracker data, lab reports and more, it will have everything you need to be in the best possible health. The aim of this card is to provide accessible quality healthcare and enable transparency in the healthcare system.
- Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) – The Healthcare Professionals Registry is a comprehensive and collaborative database of healthcare professionals involved in the delivery of healthcare services across both modern and traditional systems of medicine. Enrolling in this database enables Physicians, Emergency Medical Officers, Paramedical professionals (like Physiotherapists, Pharmacists, Dentists) Homeopathy providers, Ayurveda providers, Unani providers and Opticians to get connected to India’s digital health ecosystem. Having been built from ground-up as a country’s first comprehensive digital health registry for providing mutual recognition of professional qualifications and ensuring improved quality of healthcare – rather than continue to rely on an outdated system where individual states issue their own highly fragmented regulatory certifications for different professions – the HPR has the potential to revolutionize the way healthcare services are delivered across India. The registry is being developed by innovative technology platforms that can easily be integrated into both conventional as well as digital systems across the country.
- Health Facility Registry (HFR) – With India aiming to have the largest pool of healthcare facilities in the world. Enrolling in the Health Facility Registry (HFR) enables you to get connected to India’s digital health ecosystem. This will be done at a minimal cost which is affordable for all healthcare facilities across public and private sectors including hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories and imaging centers, pharmacies, etc. The data captured on the HFR platform can be leveraged for various purposes such as research, analytics, Quality Assurance as well as for patient care services.
- Personal Health Record (PHR) – A PHR is an electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards and that can be drawn from multiple sources while being managed, shared, and controlled by the individual. The most salient feature of the PHR, and the one that distinguishes it from the HFR & HPR, is that the information it contains is under the control of the individual.
Key features of the ABDM (PHR) mobile application are :
- Creation of ABHA Number
- Discovery of Health Information
- Linking of health records/ with a given ABHA Number
- View ABHA App
- Management of consents to securely share your health records with your doctors and providers.
The purpose behind India’s Digital Health Mission and how does this benefit the citizens?
The ABDM will work towards the following objectives:
(i) Providing health service delivery through a reference-centric, cognitive and interoperable continuum of care with citizen at its center;
(ii) Establishing appropriate governance to ensure effective stewardship of the program;
(iii) Developing an IT infrastructure with an information-sharing capability amongst all stakeholders;
(iv) Fostering government-private partnerships for developing end-to-end solutions; and,
(v) Managing health data to empower citizens and deliver better quality healthcare services.
The implementation of the various components by the ABDM is the most significant transformation initiative in the National Electronic Health Record System. ABDM will improve efficiency and transparency, enabling patients to safely store and access their medical records, so that they can share these with healthcare providers. This will not only enhance the quality of care, but also ensure timely treatment and reduce unnecessary medical visits.
The ABDM ecosystem will digitize the claims process, empowering all key stakeholders – Government, Private sector, Policy makers and Programme managers to better access health information and data to improve the continuum of care.
All that said, it’s time for us to embrace the digitisation of the healthcare sector and take advantage of the new age experiences that ensures accessible and transparent health ecosystem.
Driefcase is proud to be one of the pioneers in taking the ABDM movement forward with its mission to make health more transparent and accessible. With Driefcase Health Locker & PHR App you can easily create your ABHA account, digitise your and your family’s health records and share them securely with your care takers and providers anytime from anywhere. Most of all you get unlimited storage for your health records for FREE. There can’t be any better way to organize your health and be in control than Driefcase. If you haven’t already, Register Now
