Lok Sabha MPs Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Benny Behanan, Adoor Prakash, TN Prathapan, and Shrikant Eknath Shinde put a question to the Minister of Health and Family Welfare regarding the accessibility and acceptability of the Healthtech in India.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha, the minister Satya Pal Singh Baghel said that the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has been launched with a vision to create a national digital health ecosystem that supports universal health coverage in an efficient, accessible, inclusive, affordable, timely, and safe manner. The mission aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the country’s integrated digital health infrastructure and bridge the digital divide. Health-tech startups have the potential to revolutionise the healthcare sector by supporting innovations. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) promotes the adoption of open standards by all digital health stakeholders, including health tech startups.
The Health Data Management Policy (HDM Policy) was released on December 14, 2020, by the Union Ministry of Health as a guidance document highlighting minimum standards for privacy and data protection to be followed by the participants and stakeholders of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) ecosystem. The Health Data Management Policy specifies that no data shall be shared with any other entity without the consent of the individual.
To ensure the effective implementation of ABDM, the Union Health Ministry provides financial assistance to states and UTs for human resources, information education and communication (IEC), and capacity building, including necessary handholding support in onboarding facilities and health professionals and integrating state digital health programmes and solutions under the ABDM ecosystem.
