In his address to the nation on Independence Day, the PM has launched the National Digital Health Mission which rolls out a national health ID for every Indian.

Try this question for mains:

Q.What is the National Health ID System? How will it benefit transforming healthcare facilities in India?

National Health ID System

• This system finds its roots in a 2018 NITI Aayog proposal to create a centralised mechanism to uniquely identify every participating user in the National Health Stack.
• It will be a repository of all health-related information of a person.
• According to the National Health Authority (NHA), every patient who wishes to have their health records available digitally must start by creating a Health ID.
• Each Health ID will be linked to a health data consent manager — such as National Digital Health Mission (NDHM).
• The Health ID is created by using a person’s basic details and mobile number or Aadhaar number.
• This will make it unique to the person, who will have the option to link all of their health records to this ID.

What was the original proposal for the health ID?

• The National Health Policy 2017 had envisaged creation of a digital health technology eco-system aiming at developing an integrated health information system.
• In the context of this, the central government’s think-tank NITI Aayog, in June 2018, floated a consultation of a digital backbone for India’s health system — National Health Stack.
• As part of its consultation, NITI Aayog proposed a Digital Health ID to greatly reduce the risk of preventable medical errors and significantly increase the quality of care.

Stakeholders in the national health ID

• As envisaged, various healthcare providers — such as hospitals, laboratories, insurance companies, online pharmacies, telemedicine firms — will be expected to participate in the health ID system.

Back2Basics:

National Digital Health Mission (NDHM)

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