How can India overcome the lack of digital health records, & what role does the government play to bring a change?

In medical emergencies, quick access to health records leads to better outcomes and can even be life-saving. In India, this scenario is particularly challenging, especially for outpatient care. While most large hospitals have started maintaining digital records for in-patient data, outpatient information is often still on paper. This paper-based system can lead to mismanagement, resulting in lost, damaged, or incomplete information being shared with doctors. Digital health records offer a solution, providing doctors with ready access to complete patient information, which not only enhances the quality of care but also ensures efficiency. Interoperability takes it to the next level.

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), which was launched by the Government in 2021, aims to address this gap by focusing on interoperable digitizing health records to improve the affordability, accessibility, and quality of healthcare in India. The mission was launched with the goal of creating a unified digital platform that brings patients, healthcare providers (doctors, hospitals, labs), and key stakeholders (insurance companies and the government) together. The ABDM flow is similar to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform. Just as UPI enables easy money transfers between various banks, ABDM allows the transfer of health information between healthcare providers, with the patient's consent. Each individual receives a unique Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number, under which all their health records are safely stored. This digital system ensures consistent, reliable storage and easy retrieval of health data whenever required.

ABDM is a win-win situation for all stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem. But the biggest beneficiary is the patient. With seamless sharing of healthcare information, the bulky files that are carried around to doctors and hospitals will be a thing of the past. Better health history will allow doctors to provide quicker and better diagnosis. Purchasing insurance and processing claims will be faster and cheaper. All in all, this should lead to better care, lesser stress and lower costs.

And these are the immediate and near-term benefits. The longer-term implications are mind-boggling. Unlike our financial systems, our healthcare has always been heavily fragmented. Hence any form of change or reform has been difficult to implement. With a successful rollout of the ABDM, we take a giant leap towards achieving UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE.

Over the last two years, ABDM has already made significant progress with over 68 Cr ABHA accounts created, 45 Cr ABHA accounts linked with health records, 3.4 lakh health facilities registered and over 5 lakh healthcare professionals as part of the mission. With the ABDM, health records can be accessed by any doctor or hospital across India, provided the patient grants permission. This system addresses the issue of inaccessible digital health records, ensuring that health information is always available to healthcare providers. Ultimately, this initiative improves the healthcare experience for both patients and doctors, making health records readily available and easy to manage. By overcoming the gap between paper and digital health records, we can ensure that everyone receives timely and effective medical care, especially during an emergency. In fact, the ABDM is a crucial step towards achieving the goal in bringing India closer to a future where health information is seamlessly integrated and easily accessible. It is undoubtedly changing the way healthcare works in India.

- Contributed by Harsh Parikh, Co-Founder of DRiefcase - India’s first ABDM-integrated Personal Health Record (PHR) app that provides safe & easy access to personal health records anytime, anywhere in seconds. DRiefcase also offers comprehensive healthcare solutions aiming to simplify healthcare access for all.