Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission on Monday via video conference, his office said. The pilot project of National Digital Health Mission had been announced by the prime minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, 2020.

Currently, the Pradhan Mantri Digital Health Mission (PM-DHM) is being implemented in pilot phase in six Union Territories. In a historic initiative, Prime Minister Modi will launch the PM-DHM on September 27, 2021 at 11 AM via video conferencing, which will be followed by his address on the occasion, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

The nationwide rollout of PM-DHM coincides with National Health Authority (NHA) celebrating the third anniversary of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), the statement said. Union Health Minister Mansukh Madaviya will be present on the occasion.

Based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, PM-DHM will create 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, the PMO said. The mission will enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent, it said.

The key components of PM-DHM include a health ID for every citizen that will also work as their health account, to which personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application, a Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) and Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR) that will act as a repository of all healthcare providers across both modern and traditional systems of medicine. This will ensure ease of doing business for doctors and hospitals and healthcare service providers, the statement said.

PM-DHM Sandbox, created as a part of the mission, will act as a framework for technology and product testing that will help organizations, including private players, intending to be a part of National Digital Health Ecosystem become a Health Information Provider or Health Information User or efficiently link with building blocks of PM-DHM. This mission will create interoperability within the digital health ecosystem, similar to the role played by the Unified Payments Interface in revolutionizing payments, the PMO said.

Citizens will only be a click-away from accessing healthcare facilities, it said.

First Published:Sept 26, 2021 5:01 PM IST