Strong Digital Health Capability Key To Realizing The Goal Of Ayushman Bharat

- Dr Devendra Kumar Punia

With India launching its most ambitious healthcare scheme ever in the form of Ayushman Bharat or Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), there is both excitement and apprehension over its future. Excitement stems from the huge benefits it promises to deliver towards realizing our goal of universal healthcare while apprehension surrounds our ability (or the lack of it) to make this mammoth project a success. A program that aims to provide substantial health coverage to as many as 10 crore households can be a game changer if it is rolled out successfully. Not only does it make healthcare more accessible for millions of deprived Indians, it also promises to radically improve primary and preventive healthcare by building 1.5 lakh health and wellness centers.

As our country works towards achieving a uniform and standardized health coverage system, key to its success is building a strong capability in digital health. Digital health is essentially a paradigm that converges healthcare delivery with digital tools in a way that empowers us to better track, manage, and improve our health so that we are able to lead better and more productive lives. A strong digital health system will also address the inefficiencies in healthcare delivery, make healthcare more accessible and cost effective.

An Enabling Digital Infrastructure for PMJAY – National Health Stack