Boosting Healthcare by Supporting HealthTech Startups, says MoS Health

New Delhi: The Minister of State for Health, Shri Prataprao Jadhav, informed the Lok Sabha that the government is adopting several key strategies to improve digital healthcare accessibility. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), launched with the vision of creating a national digital health ecosystem, is the cornerstone of the government’s initiative.

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) encourages the adoption of open standards for digital health solutions, enabling startups to integrate their services into the national health infrastructure.

Additionally, the government is ensuring that health-tech solutions are not only accessible to urban populations but also to those in rural areas where access to physical healthcare facilities may be limited. By providing digital health solutions, the government aims to make healthcare more equitable and inclusive.

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The minister was responding to the questions raised by SH KC Venugopal about whether the Government has any strategy to combat the twin challenges of accessibility and acceptability of the health tech sector caused due to a digital divide and a lack of digital literacy among the public; the details thereof and if not, the reasons for therefor;

He seeks to know the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to address the rise in health tech startups; the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to improve ‘medical data consolidation and management' in the country; and

Furthermore, he inquired, about the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government for infrastructural development/improvement in quality healthcare through the digital healthcare system. 

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In response to these questions, MoS Health Minister Prataprao Jadhav informed the Lok Sabha that the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has been launched with a vision to create a national digital health ecosystem that supports universal health coverage in an efficient, accessible, inclusive, affordable, timely and safe manner. The mission aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country to bridge the digital divide.

The Mission provides for assisted and offline modes for the creation of Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) for areas with limited internet connectivity or hardware or both. Various applications such as the ABHA app, and Aarogya Setu app are multi-lingual and intuitive to use, to address the lack of digital literacy.

Health-tech startups have the potential to revolutionize the healthcare sector by supporting innovations. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) promotes the adoption of open standards by all digital health stakeholders including health tech startups. The government has set up an ABDM sandbox to integrate these solutions into the ABDM ecosystem. The government has also launched various initiatives like the Digital Health Incentive Scheme, microsites, and collaboration with pharmacies and laboratories to accelerate the adoption of digital health, particularly focused on the private sector including startups.

Health Data Management Policy (HDM Policy) was released on 14th Dec 2020 by the Union Ministry of Health as a guidance document highlighting minimum standards for privacy and data protection to be followed by the participants/stakeholders of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) ecosystem. Health Data Management Policy specifies that no data shall be shared with any other entity without the consent of the individual, added the Minister.

To ensure the effective implementation of ABDM, the Union Health Ministry provides financial assistance to States/UTs for human resources, information education & communication (IEC), and capacity building including necessary handholding support in onboarding the facilities/ health professionals and integrating state health digital health programs/solutions under ABDM ecosystem. Union Health Ministry also provides financial assistance to all States/UTs under the National Health Mission to strengthen health infrastructure for the implementation of IT interventions such as Hospital Management Information Systems (HMIS) and telemedicine services across the country.