Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission (PMDHM) on September 27, said Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya. Every citizenof the country will be eligible to benefit from the scheme.
According to Mr Mandaviya, “people will be given a unique digital health ID that will contain all of their health records.”
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the launch of "a new campaign" called the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) in his Independence Day speech.
“Every Indian will get a Health ID card. Every time you visit a doctor or a pharmacy, everything will be logged in this card. From the doctor’s appointment to the medication,everything will be available in your health profile.”
Andaman and Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry are among the six Indian Union Territories that have already started the PradhanMantri Digital Health Mission pilot scheme.
The goal of this programme is to digitise healthcare throughout the country and to develop a national digital health ecosystem that will allow patients to keep, access and consent to sharetheir health records with doctors and health facilities of their preference.
Objectives of Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission
The PMDHM aspires to build a statewide digital health infrastructure with health IDs for all citizens, Unique Identifiers for doctors and health facilities, Personal Health Records, telemedicineand e-pharmacy, among other components, to provide universal health care.
According to the health ministry, it will also provide Universal Health Coverage in an efficient, accessible, inclusive, affordable and safe manner. The scheme will develop a national digitalhealth ecosystem by providing a wide range of data, information and infrastructure services.