Programs in News: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and eSanjeevani

Programs in News: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and eSanjeevani. The National Health Authority (NHA) said the government’s eSanjeevani telemedicine service has been integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). NHA also launches online public dashboard for Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

Latest Programs and Policies are very important for RBI Grade B, NABARD Grade A Exam. The social issue part in Economics and social issue deals with government schemes and programs in RBI Grade B and NABARD Grade A Exam. This Article will provide you insight on recently launched Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and eSanjeevani .

The National Health Authority (NHA) said the government’s eSanjeevani telemedicine service has been integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

This integration allows the existing eSanjeevani users to easily create their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) and use it to link and manage their existing health records like prescriptions, lab reports, etc. The users would also be able to share their health records with doctors on eSanjeevani leading to better clinical decision making and ensuring the continuum of care.

The eSanjeevani telemedicine platform now joins other 40 digital health applications that have completed their ABDM integration. Together, these health tech services are building a robust, interoperable and inclusive digital health ecosystem for the country.

ABDM aims to build digital highways to bridge the gaps in existing digital health solutions and stakeholders in India. The integration of eSanjeevani with ABDM is one such example where the 22 crore ABHA holders can link and store their health records created via eSanjeevani in the health lockers of their choice. They can also share their previously linked health records with doctors on eSanjeevani making the entire consultation process paperless.

eSanjeevani — National telemedicine service

In April 2020, during the nationwide lockdown, the Union health ministry launched eSanjeevani OPD. It is a patient-to-doctor telemedicine platform and provisions health services to the public in the confines of their homes.

Patients consult with doctors and specialists on a daily basis using this innovative digital medium to seek health services. eSanjeevani platform has enabled two types of telemedicine services — doctor-to-doctor (eSanjeevani) and patient-to-doctor (eSanjeevani OPD) tele-consultations.

The former is being implemented under the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWC). It aims to implement tele-consultation in all the 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centers in conjunction with identified medical college hospitals in a ‘hub and spoke’ model. States have identified and set up dedicated ‘hubs’ in medical colleges and district hospitals to provide tele-consultation services to ‘spokes’ — Sub-Health Centers (SHCs), Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and Health & Wellness Centers (HWCs).

By the end of 2022, eSanjeevani AB-HWC is slated to be implemented at 1,55,000 Health & Wellness Centers nationally.

What the Union Budget Says About Telemedicine and Digital Health

With the success of telemedicine services in the last two years, the Indian government is sparing no means to develop it further. A glimpse of this effort can be seen in the expenditure allocation for healthcare in the Union Budget 2022-2023. In a welcome move, the budget has taken some high-priority steps towards digitalization of healthcare services and the use of telemedicine as a tool to combat the ongoing mental health crisis.

The government has stressed the importance of digital healthcare by announcing the rollout of an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem (now called Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission or ABDM). This would consist of the formation of digital registries for health providers and facilities, the creation of unique health identities for all Indians, as well as ensuring universal access to health services.

In addition, The initiative will include a network of 23 tele-mental health centers of excellence, with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) as its nodal center and International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) providing technological support.

The launch of the National Tele Mental Health Program is being hailed as a positive step towards recognizing and addressing mental health issues. The program is aimed at providing counseling and care to people in need. This is especially laudable given the emotional and mental burdens that a huge section of the population is carrying post-COVID.

What is Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)?

In September 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). It was originally called the National Digital Health Mission and launched on August 15, 2020 as a pilot in six Union Territories.

Based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is creating a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide-range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal information.

Citizens will only be a click away from accessing health care facilities.
Under the mission, citizens will get a digital health ID.
Health is a state subject, but the National Health Mission will work closely with the states on Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
The digital health ecosystem created by Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission supports continuity of care across primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare in a seamless manner.
It aids availability of health care services particularly in remote and rural areas through technology interventions like telemedicine.

ABDM in News Recently

NHA launches online public dashboard for Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

The National Health Authority (NHA) under its flagship scheme of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has launched a public dashboard for near real-time information on the scheme. The ABDM public dashboard displays detailed information on the core registries under the mission – Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) numbers, Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) and Health Facility Registry (HFR).

Digital health ID: A repository of all health-related information of a person, such as medical tests, previous prescriptions, diagnosis, treatments etc. It can be created voluntarily, free of cost by every Indian citizen.
Health Facility Registry (HFR): A single repository of all the health facilities (both public and private) in the country.
Personal Health Records (PHR): An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that can be drawn from multiple sources.

As per the dashboard, as on 30th May 2022, the total number of ABHA (earlier known as health ID) created are 22.1 crore, over 16.6 thousand healthcare professionals have registered in the HPR, over 69.4 thousand health facilities have been registered in the HFR, over 1.8 lakh health records already linked by users and the recently revamped ABHA app has crossed over 5.1 lakh downloads.

All stakeholders can easily access the ABDM public dashboard from the ABDM website or directly here: https://dashboard.abdm.gov.in/abdm/ . The ABHA app, previously known as NDHM Health Records app is available for download from the Google Play Store.

The ABHA mobile application enables an individual to create an ABHA address (username@abdm), an easy to remember username that can be linked with the 14 digit randomly generated ABHA number.

40 digital health service applications successfully integrated with Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) The ABDM partners ecosystem now consists of 16 government applications and 24 private sector applications.