New Delhi: Digital solutions have the potential to revolutionize the healthcare delivery systems. India aims to launch a global initiative on digital health as an institutional framework. This framework aims to converge global efforts for digital health and scale up digital solutions with the use of cutting-edge technologies. It is time to move from ‘Silos to Systems’ with the collaboration of all countries to improve the coverage and quality of healthcare services, shared Dr. Mansukh MandaviyaUnion Minister for Health and Family Welfare when addressing virtually the ‘Global Conference on Digital Health – Taking Universal Health Coverage to the Last Citizen’, a co-branded event under the India initiative G20 Presidency organized by WHO – South-East Asia Region in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Highlighting the importance of digital health, Dr. Mandaviya stated: “Digital health is a great enabler in the delivery of healthcare services and has the potential to support overall Universal Health Coverage (UHC) goals.” He further added that national health policies have proven to be critical to several pioneering digital health interventions that ensure the availability, accessibility, affordability, and equity of health services.
Dr. Mandaviya explained that through this initiative, “we are building consensus on the promotion of digital public goods as a key factor in achieving the goals of universal health coverage through the personalization and democratization of technologies.”
Addressing the challenges in universalizing digital health and enabling equitable access to healthcare services around the world, particularly for low- and middle-income countries, the Minister of Health added: “In line with the spirit from Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, India provided Co-Win, e-sanjeevani and Aarogya Setu apps as digital public goods that exemplify our commitment to global health and our role in driving equitable access to critical health solutions.”
Reiterating India’s commitment to universal health coverage, the Health Minister mentioned that digital interventions have become the foundation of many crucial health programs such as child reproductive health care, Ni-kshay, the control program of tuberculosis, integrated disease surveillance systems and hospital information systems, among many others. He further added that India’s adoption of digital health as a critical intervention since the start of the pandemic became a watershed moment as it enabled healthcare services to reach a wide range of services with ease, reaching to the innermost regions of the nation. Citing the examples of e-Sanjeevni, a teleconsultation platform that has exceeded 100 million teleconsultations, the vaccine management push achieving the administration of more than 2.2 billion doses, and Prime Minister Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) providing insurance medical service to 500 million citizens at no cost. Without cash or paper, Dr. Mandaviya emphasized, “the implementation of digital technology has forever changed the dynamics of healthcare delivery.”
“While governments around the world are already making significant investments to successfully harness technology to improve health outcomes, there is still a long way to go to achieve sustainable and scalable results. Consequently, India, under its G20 Chairmanship, has prioritized digital health as a specific priority in its Health Task Force, namely “Digital Health Innovation and Solutions to Assist UHC and Improve Healthcare Service Delivery.” medical attention”. Its objective is to align, support and converge efforts, investments and promote the concept of digital public health goods to help Universal Health Coverage”, he added.
Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, explained various digital health solutions India has embraced during the pandemic: Aarogya Setu, e-Sanjeevani, iGot Digital platform and Co-WIN. He noted that digital health with its transformative potential can not only improve service delivery, but also help continuity of care at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels through the creation of longitudinal electronic health records of the citizens. “Digital health interventions are supporting the acceleration of health transformation and have enormous potential to support universal health coverage. The effective implementation of digital technologies in health can help in terms of establishing well-functioning and efficient health systems, and empowering patients,” he added.
Emphasizing India’s role in leading the Global Digital Health Agenda, Lav Aggarwal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reported that India introduced the World Health Assembly Resolution on Digital Health at its 71st session in Geneva, which was successfully adopted by countries and prompted global action on the digital health agenda. Following the creation of a Department of Digital Health and Innovation at WHO, a Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-25 has also been developed in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he reported.
Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO-SEARO applauded India’s e-Sanjeevani, a digital health solution that helped more than 100 million teleconsultations. He said that digital health solutions ensure the democratization of health services and innovations with a specific focus on low- and lower-middle-income (LMIC) countries. He also suggested establishing a digital health infrastructure, building on institutional platforms and a citizen-driven digital health ecosystem.
Professor Alain Labrique, Director of Digital Health and Innovation at WHO focused on the need for people-centred digital solutions that address equity and inclusion of marginalized communities and the digital divide.
Also present at the conference were world leaders and health development partners, health policymakers, digital health innovators and influencers, academics and other stakeholders from around the world.
