National Digital Health Mission - PM Modi makes big announcement on 74th Independence Day

On the 74th celebration of Independence Day, PM Narendra Modi has declared the launch of National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) from Red Fort, Old Delhi today. The maverick Prime Minister has remarked that this initiative will bring a revolution in the health sector of India. Under this flagship initiative, every Indian citizen will be provided a Digital Health Card. The digital Health Card will facilitate the citizens with multifarious health benefits. 

Health history of an individual pertaining to current and previous diseases, doctors who have earlier diagnosed, laboratory investigations, details of medication and treatment etc. will all be digitally recorded. 

Any legitimate Indian citizen can avail this Government programme spontaneously. Sufficient measures will be incorporated in the programme to ensure privacy of the concerned individuals. Citizens availing the benefits of NDHM need not to worry about breach of privacy at all. The digital health card will relieve people from the cumbersome standing on queues for making registration card etc.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central Government has accorded sanction for a fund of Rs. 470.00 Crore to implement the National Digital Health Mission. 

The NDHM programme will initially be launched with the following 4 features:-

Health Identity Card(ID)

Every citizen of India will be provided a health identity card. This will give a big relieve from the tedious process of maintaining prescriptions, laboratory records etc. All such reports will be stored in a cloud server in an organized and secured manner. The health card can also be linked with existing Aadhaar card for added benefits.

Personal Health Record

This will cover age of the citizen, blood group, allergic substances, previous and current diseases, surgeries and diseases of close family members. This will make it immensely easier for the doctor to study one's health history which subsequently will enable him to decide the best course of action.

DIGI Doctor (Digital Doctor)

This will enable the doctors to register themselves for the digital health programme. On successful registration, the doctors will be issued an unique ID for entering into the system whenever necessary. The doctors will be allowed to update their details, they can also provide their contact numbers. Doctors will also be facilitated with Digital Signature at absolutely free of cost. Digital Signatures will come handy while issuing online prescription. 

Health Facility Registry

This will contain all relevant information pertaining to Hospitals, Clinics, Laboratory and health centres. This will enable the citizens with faster access to vital information under a single roof. The health facility registry will be made available in both web and app based formats. 

Two features which will be added later

Tele-medicine :- 

The citizens will be able to consult with any registered health practitioner online. This is not yet confirmed whether the service will be free or the users will have to bear some sort of cost. 

E-pharmacy :-

Users will be able to place order for their prescribed medicines online. 

Objectives of the mission

• Main purpose of the mission is to create an organized digital health system for the entire country
• The large database of health data will enable the Government to make further health policies and to implement them in an efficient  manner 

When the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) will be available for public?

We shall have to wait for the flagship NDHM for sometime. Actually, the Central Government asked for public suggestions to decide the logo, tagline etc. regarding the programme. The last date for submitting suggestion was 6 August and a total of 2604 people have submitted their suggestions. Person with the best suggestion will win a cash prize of Rupees Twenty Five Thousand.