Health Tech Revolution in India

India’s healthcare landscape is currently undergoing a digital transformation, playing a crucial role in enhancing accessibility, affordability, efficiency and sustainability. This growth is fueled by government initiatives, policy reforms, role of private players and technological innovations. Digital healthcare is a promising solution to India’s growing population needs and the evolving demands of a developing nation.

According to an article by World Economic Forum, India has the potential to become a ‘global pathfinder in digital health’. WEF highlights that India’s digital ecosystem, thriving digital public infrastructure (DPI) and national health initiatives make it the ideal candidate for spearheading digital healthcare.

 National digital health programmes

• Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY)

PM-JAY is the cornerstone of India’s commitment to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This initiative, launched in 2018 is one of the largest health assurance schemes in the world. With the goal to cover 55 crore individuals, the initiative will provide health coverage to the country’s most vulnerable. Since its launch, 35.4 crore Ayushman cards have been created and authorisation of 7.79 crore hospital admissions, providing ₹1,07,125 crores in financial coverage.

• Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

ABDM aims to be the backbone of digital health infrastructure in the country, bringing together all stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem. India’s ABDM is the most ambitious initiative taken up by a country of this scale, diversity and population. Yet, the initiative has managed to transform the healthcare landscape of India. Within 3 years of its launch, 67 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) have been created, more than 42 crore health records have been linked to ABHA, over 1.3 lakh facilities are ABDM-enabled and 3.3 lakh health facilities and 4.7 lakh healthcare professionals have been successfully registered in the National Healthcare Providers Registry.

• eSanjeevani Telemedicine Service

eSanjeevani is a step towards digital health equity in India to achieve UHC by providing telemedicine systems through a hub and spoke model. The service has already served more than 33,81,40,627 patients at over 1,31,069 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and more than 691 online OPDs serviced by a team of over 2,31,129 doctors, medical specialists, super-specialists and health workers as telemedicine practitioners.

• U-Win Portal

This digital solution for timely vaccines for pregnant women and children is not only a step towards the Universal Immunization Programme, but also achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. It is also one of the largest public health programs in the world providing free vaccination.

• National Tele Mental Health Programme (Tele MANAS)

The digital arm of the District Mental Health Programme, TeleMANAS is an important step by the government to recognise the importance of mental health and make it more accessible. With services being provided across the country in more than 20 languages, more than 18,13,000 calls have been handled by the helpline number till date.

Other than these programmes, India’s National Health Policy (NHP) 2017, National Health Mission (NHM), Health Data Management Policy and National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) also showcase the commitment of the Indian government to achieve UHC through digital health integration.

Way Forward

India’s expenditure on healthcare constitutes around 3.8% of its GDP. With a significant portion of the population lacking access to basic healthcare facilities, healthtech must become a major component of this expenditure. As the government increases its emphasis on technology driven solutions, digital health initiatives will be crucial to bridge the gap, improve service delivery and ensure accessibility to quality healthcare.