Why in the news?

Pathfinder in Digital Health', highlighted India's potential in building a global resilient digital healthcare ecosystem.

More on the news

• India's healthcare landscape is evolving to bridge gap between urban and rural healthcare services, leveraging telemedicine, electronic health records (EHRs), artificial intelligence (AI) driven diagnostics etc.
• This proactive approach to digital health, characterized by robust digital public infrastructure (DPI) and innovative private sector, positions India as a global leader in developing adaptable healthcare solutions.

What is Digital Health?

• Definition: As per World Health Organisation (WHO), digital health is the field of knowledge and practices associated with the development and use of digital technologies to improve health.
• Components:
  • Digital health applications: E.g., EHRs; telemedicine; wearable devices to monitors health aspects; health information system for managing, storing, exchanging health information etc.
• Digital health technologies: E.g., AI and Big Data to analyze patterns in large volumes of data; Internet of Medical Things (interconnected medical devices); Augmented Reality to make medical procedure more efficient etc.

Prominent features of India's digital healthcare highlighted by WEF

• Interoperability and standardization: Ensuring seamless data exchange between stakeholders.
  • E.g., Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to create a nationwide digital health ecosystem by integrating healthcare service providers and patients through Unique Health IDs.
  • E.g., CoWIN Platform revolutionized vaccination campaigns, managing over 2 billion doses setting global benchmarks for large-scale digital health system standardization.
  • Other examples include:U-Win Portal, Aarogya Setu App, e-Hospital application etc.
• Public-private collaboration: Encouraging partnerships for innovation and expansion.
  • E.g., under National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), a Health Facility Register (HFR), repository of health facilities, is centrally maintained and facilitates standardized data exchange of private and public health facilities across India.
• Focus on affordability and accessibility: Leveraging digital tools to make healthcare inclusive.
  • E.g., e-Sanjeevani Telemedicine Service connects remote areas to healthcare through telemedicine, enabling millions of consultations.
  • E.g., National Tele Mental Health Programme (Tele MANAS) aims to improve access to quality mental health counseling and care services in the country.
• Global Influence: India's digital health models could serve as templates for other developing nations.
  • E.g., India's digital health infrastructure and large population base provides an ideal testing ground for developing global healthcare solutions, and can address universal healthcare challenges such as rising costs, unequal access, chronic disease burdens etc.
  • Also, successful models like cross-sector partnerships, PPP, etc., can be adapted for other regions, especially low- and middle-income countries facing similar healthcare challenges.

Concerns associated with digital healthcare 

• Lack of standardization in digital Cards: India struggles to standardize coverage and quality of existing digital health cards (e.g., ESIC card, PM-JAY card etc.), leading to data migration and transfer issues.
• Equity and access issues: Unequal access to digital health technologies, digital literacy skills etc., can exclude vulnerable populations particularly in remote and rural areas.
  • E.g., National Health Authority (NHA) reports that nearly 30 per cent of healthcare institutions in India suffer from poor data connectivity, impacting medical treatments.
• Privacy and security issues: Unauthorized data access and breaches can compromise patient privacy and lead to identity theft.
  • E.g., in November 2022, AIIMS experienced a cyber-attack that led to server downtime, disrupting the functioning of the outpatient department (OPD), withholding around 4 crore patients' sensitive data and medical records etc.
• Algorithmic bias: Technologies such as AI can result in unfair or discriminatory treatment, which might lead to racial and ethnic disparity in healthcare.
  • E.g., AI in US health systems exhibited bias by prioritizing healthier white patients over sicker black patients for additional care due to AI's training on cost data, instead of care needs.

Conclusion

India's digital healthcare infrastructure holds immense potential to enhance healthcare accessibility and efficiency. At the same time, with continued policy support (e.g., through enhanced cyber security frameworks etc.), infrastructure development (e.g., through BharatNet, Blockchain-based health records etc.), more public-private collaborations, technological advancements etc., India's healthcare system is expected to evolve into a globally recognized model for digital health transformation, setting benchmarks for other nations.