NHA invites Expression of Interest to help build National digital health network
New Delhi: National Health Authority (NHA), the implementing agency for Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has extended an open invitation to all interested parties for sharing their Expression of Interest (EoI) for developing innovative solutions that shall help build a national digital health ecosystem for India.
This collaborative approach will not just help speed up the development but also will help in making digital public goods available to public and/or private entities. Interested parties shall provide these solutions as a service at no cost to public and/or private entities.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to create a seamless online platform that will enable interoperability within the digital healthcare ecosystem. The mission has been conceptualized as a set of 'digital building blocks'. Each building block is seen as a 'digital public good' that can be used by any entity in the digital health ecosystem and provides key capabilities that enable the ABDM vision.
Sharing the thought behind the NHA's invitation for Expression of Interest (EoI), Dr. R.S. Sharma, CEO, NHA added "The ABDM endeavours to give impetus to open and interoperable standards in the digital health ecosystem. Such an undertaking will not only expedite Universal Health Coverage goals in India but also have ripple effects on the global health ecosystem. However, such an ambition requires all hands on deck. In this regard, the National Health Authority is giving an open call inviting all interested parties to contribute to the Unified Health Interface (UHI), Health Claims Protocol (HCP), and various other open-source digital public goods being created to expand the digital health ecosystem."
ABDM has developed building blocks and interoperable APIs to offer a seamless digital healthcare experience for all stakeholders – health facilities, patients, and healthcare professionals. The key building blocks of ABDM are - ABHA, Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR), Health Facility Registry (HFR), and Health Information Exchange & Consent Manager (HIE-CM).
These building blocks are designed to enable identification of participating entities (health care providers, patients, and health professionals) and enable exchange of interoperable health data with patient consent. The digital ecosystem developed is now accessible to health facilities and health tech players for integration.
Currently, there are over 800 participants integrated with ABDM's registries and enabling health data exchange through the HIE-CM. Further details regarding joining and integrating with the ABDM ecosystem are available at ABDM sandbox portal: https://sandbox.abdm.gov.in/
The interested developers/ parties can also make a significant contribution to the national digital health ecosystem development by sharing their Expression of Interest (EOI). Some illustrative examples of the contribution for this cause are as follows:
1. Unified Health Interface (UHI) - NHA intends to develop a digital platform (similar to Unified Payment Interface or UPI) for interoperability between various digital solutions to facilitate various stakeholders using disparate solutions to communicate. Interested parties can join the development community on https://github.com/NHA-ABDM/UHI.
2. Health Claims Platform (HCP) - NHA is developing a Health Claims Platform as a public good. Health providers (eg: Hospitals, and labs) can submit their e-claims on this platform which can be received by payers (e.g.: Insurers, TPAs) for processing.
3. Software as a Service (SaaS) - Various digital health solutions can be used by healthcare providers. These may include solutions such as Hospital Information System (HIS), Hospital (or Health) Management Information System (HMIS), Laboratory Management Information System (LMIS), teleconsultation solution, health lockers, etc.
4. Open-Source Solutions - Interested parties are also invited to contribute through open-source software solutions that can be made available for use by various entities. These may include software mentioned the above para pertaining to SaaS or any other tool which may be of use to healthcare providers.
5. Other Solutions - Interested parties have any other idea for contributing to the cause of development of national digital health ecosystem may also reach out with specific proposal.
More details on the same are available at: https://abdm.gov.in/assets/uploads/eoi_docs/Open_Call_for_Expression_of_Interest_(EoI)_vF.pdf
NHA is keen to collaborate with all technology providers/individuals to build a digital health network that works for all. Parties interested in providing these solutions as a service at no cost to public and/or private entities may submit their EoI for their intended purpose with details to NHA. Interest for the same may be intimated by email at abdm@nha.gov.in.
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