On September 27, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce the Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission’s (PM-DHM) national launch.
Through greater access to healthcare data, PM-DHM intends to use technology to improve the efficiency, efficacy, and transparency of healthcare delivery in India.
It aims to develop a national digital health infrastructure that includes, among other things, Health IDs, Unique Identifiers for doctors and health institutions, Personal Health Records, telemedicine, and e-pharmacy.
A national digital health ecosystem will be developed under the flagship programme by providing a wide range of data, information, and infrastructure services, all while maintaining the security, confidentiality, and privacy of health-related personal information.
The flagship scheme will digitalize healthcare by creating a country-wide digital health ecosystem that will enable patients to store, access and consent to share their health records with doctors and health facilities of their choice.
The pilot of the scheme has already been implemented in six Union Territories of Andaman & Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
From both the citizen and medical practitioner point of view, the mission is privacy and security-led and will enable consent-based sharing of health information in the form of test reports, scans, prescriptions and diagnosis reports between patients and treating medicos thereby making follow-up care seamless, secure and timely, said the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in a statement earlier.
