It will unleash a digital health tech revolution with innovations and various services for citizens

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday directed that steps be expedited to expand operations under the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM).

He said that the NDHM will bring ease of living for citizens to avail a large number of health services. PM Modi said while reviewing a meeting .

He observed that though the technical platform and building up of registries are inevitable essential elements, the utility of the platform to the citizens will be visible only by way of enabling citizens across the country to avail of services like tele-consultation with a doctor, availing services of a lab, transferring test reports or health records digitally to the doctor and paying digitally for any of the above services.

The Prime Minister directed the National Health Authority (NHA) along with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to coordinate efforts in this direction.

Last year during his Independence Day address, the Prime Minister had announced the launch of NDHM. Since then, the digital modules and registries have been developed and the mission has been rolled out in six Union Territories.

So far, nearly 11.9 lakh Health IDs have been generated and 3106 doctors and 1490 facilities have registered on the platform. It has been envisaged that Unified Health Interface (UHI) - an open and interoperable IT network for digital health should soon be rolled out.

This interface shall enable public and private solutions and apps to plug in and be a part of the National Digital Health Ecosystem. It will allow users to search, book and avail necessary healthcare services such as tele-consultations or laboratory tests.

The system will ensure that only verified healthcare providers join the ecosystem. In such a manner, healthcare infrastructure and human resources can also be utilized in a more efficient manner across the nation.

The concept of UPI e-Voucher developed by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) was also discussed. This digital payment option will enable financial transactions linked to specific purposes which can be used only by the intended user. It can be useful for targeted and efficient delivery of various government schemes and an immediate use case of UPI e-Voucher could be healthcare services.