Union Health Secretary Highlights India’s Digital Healthcare Initiatives & AI-Driven Healthcare Innovation

The digital health ecosystem is supporting improved healthcare coordination, patient data accessibility, and continuity of care

At a recent event held in Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava has highlighted the role of digital healthcare initiatives and AI-driven innovation in strengthening healthcare delivery across India.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Health Secretary emphasised the transformative impact of India’s Digital Healthcare initiatives and noted that the government continues to strengthen the country’s primary healthcare system under the National Health Policy 2017.

Referring to the National Health Policy, 2017, she highlighted its focus on preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative healthcare while stating “the healthcare system has expanded its focus beyond reproductive and child healthcare and communicable diseases towards a more wellness-oriented approach, with increased emphasis on screening and preventive healthcare at the primary healthcare level.”

The Union Health Secretary said the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) and ABHA accounts are helping streamline patient care by enabling secure and seamless access to digital health records through a unified healthcare platform.

She noted that the digital health ecosystem is supporting improved healthcare coordination, patient data accessibility, and continuity of care through longitudinal health records and consent-based digital access mechanisms across healthcare institutions.

Commenting on the significance of the initiative, she said, “The initiative enables individuals to securely access and share their health records across healthcare institutions with consent, thereby strengthening referral mechanisms and supporting precision healthcare through comprehensive patient histories across different stages of life and treatment.”

In addition, she also noted that the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) has played a transformative role in strengthening tertiary healthcare through the development of 75 Super Speciality infrastructure and supports the 22 AIIMS institutions across the country.

Outlining the different pillars of Ayushman Bharat, Srivastava stated that the initiative is anchored in the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), which together aim to provide an integrated continuum of healthcare.

She noted that patients screened at the primary healthcare level are referred to community health centres, sub-district hospitals, district hospitals, medical colleges, and empanelled hospitals for secondary and tertiary care, involving private healthcare institutions under PM-JAY.

She further highlighted that “more than 600 million citizens are covered under the scheme.”

Referring to the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), Srivastava said the initiative aims to address health infrastructure gaps and build pandemic-resilient healthcare systems. She also referred to the Integrated Health Information Platform of the National Centre for Disease Control and the support being extended to healthcare institutions under the mission.

Further, Srivastava also highlighted the role of the open data platform BODH, an initiative developed by the National Health Authority (NHA) in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, aimed at strengthening AI-driven healthcare innovation through data-driven benchmarking and digital collaboration.

Additionally, the Union Health Secretary underlined the ongoing regulatory reforms for Generic Drugs and Medical Devices to promote innovation and ease the research processes.

Furthermore, Srivastava stated that collaboration between engineers and doctors is essential for driving innovation in healthcare, and added that ethical conduct and integrity would play a critical role in building a “Viksit Bharat.”

The event was also addressed virtually by Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences. While addressing the event, he appreciated the institute’s contribution to indigenous medical device innovation and also highlighted its technology transfer initiatives and collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation in the field of space medicine.

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