Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

We highlight the partnership between D-code and Arogya Finance that was brokered by ACCESS Health through the Fintech for Health Initiative. The combination of a doctor discoveryplatformtosourceaffordablehealthcareservicesfor critical illnesses and a low-interest medical loan is helping underbanked people reduce and mitigate their financial burdens.AnotherFintechforHealthpartnershipwithEntitled,a platform that helps employees [ARM5] easily access financial productsandservices,sawthecreationoftheSanjeevanihealth card for frontline allied health workers to provide a bundled financial package of pre-approved health loans, microsavings, andaccidentcoverage.

Topics

1. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission 2. Effect of Covid-19 on Healthcare affordability 3. Digital wallets: the genesis, current usage, and future use healthcare payments in India 4. How Fintech for Health partnerships in India provide healthcare financing for cancer patients

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission What is the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)?

TheGovernmentofIndialaunchedtheAyushmanBharatDigital Mission (ABDM) on 27th September 2021. ABDM is a flagship digital health initiative that aims to develop the technological backbone for an integrated digital infrastructure in the Indian health system. The government launched a pilot project of the ABDMinthesixUnionTerritoriesofthecountrylastyear.

The vision of ABDM is to create a unified online platform for India that will provide easy access to treatment records and enablefasterandmoreeffectivetreatment.ABDMseekstooffer a wide range of data, information, and infrastructure services, based on open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring the security, confidentiality, and privacy of health-relatedpersonalinformation. The genesis of the program was the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017. NHP 2017 presented a vision of health and wellbeingforallofallages,emphasizingtheneedfor a continuumof healthcare. Based on this policy directive, the government developed the National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB), the guidingdocumentthatprovidesthearchitecturalvision,guiding principles, and data standards to create an integrated digital health infrastructure for India. The ABDM is designed and deployed in alignment with the guiding principles of the Blueprint.

What are the components of ABDM?

Figure 17. The Components of ABDM

One of the critical components of the ABDM includes the creationofauniquehealthIDforeverycitizen.Personalhealth recordsarelinkedtotheID,creatingalongitudinalhealthrecord for the person which can be viewed with the help of an application:thePHR.ThecreationofthehealthIDisvoluntary, and the personal health record will comply with security and privacyprinciples.ABDMwillalsoprovideuniqueidentifiersfor all healthcare professionals and create a Healthcare ProfessionalsRegistryandaHealthFacilityRegistry.

What are the implications of ABDM?

The Health ID will help citizens do away with cumbersome safekeeping and carrying paper-based medical records while navigating the health system. Through the PHR, an individual canshareprescriptions,diagnosticsreports,andothermedical history documents with healthcare providers, irrespective of whereandwhentheyweregenerated.Inaddition,asoldrecords willnotbelostbutsaveddigitally,thepatientcanavoidneedless duplicationoftestsandprocedures. The Health ID promises to reduce inefficiencies and improve clinical outcomes. Health professionals can access the entire digitalmedicalrecordof theirpatients,betterunderstandpast health episodes and conditions, and design more effective treatmentprotocols.TheHealthIDwillalsobethereferencefor other stakeholders in the health system, such as diagnostic laboratories,insurancecompanies,andgovernment-sponsored healthinsuranceprograms. TheHealthcareProfessionalsRegistrywillbringallhealthstaff, suchasdoctors,nurses,andparamedics,ontoasingleplatform. The Health Facility Registry will be a database of all health facilities updated in real-time, which will bring further ease of

doing business for all health system stakeholders. ABDM will ensure interoperability and bring together the digital health solutionsacrossallhospitalsontoasingleplatform. Consolidating a person’s medical record is an opportunity for telemedicine,preventivehealthandwellness,andothervaried healthcare solutions to grow. While the individual will be the sole owner of their health record, anonymized and aggregated population-level data will fuel advanced analytics, the use of biomarkers,andthedevelopmentofpreventivehealthcare.The population data will aid geography and demography-based monitoring, improve disease surveillance, and support evidence-basedpolicymaking. The ABDM will also impact the health financing sub-system of healthcare stakeholders, thereby providing timely access to affordable healthcare. In addition, the insurance industry will have valuable data for proper underwriting of policies. ABDM willalsodigitizetheclaimsprocess,enableautoadjudicationof claims,andreducethetimeneededtoprovidereimbursement. Inconclusion,theABDMisanenablingdigitalframeworkforthe entire healthcare system. The creation of health ID and record repositoriesistheearlystageofamoreextensivedigitalhealth transformation envisioned in a National Digital Health Ecosystem.

Author:

Ms Prashanthi Krishnakumar, Technical Specialist, ACCESS HealthInternational