NHA, NASSCOM organise conclave on Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
Saw participation of over 400 health, tech sectors and investors
The National Health Authority (NHA) and NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies) recently organised the NHA-NASSCOM Conclave 2022 on Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission – Revolutionizing Digital Health. The conclave was held in Bengaluru as a hybrid event with the participation of over 400 stakeholders and industry veterans from the healthcare and technology sector as well as the investor community in India in physical/ virtual mode.
The chief guest for the event, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, and Medical Education, Government of Karnataka – Dr K Sudhakar said – “Ayushman Bharat or long life for all Indians can be ensured when quality healthcare can be provided to one and all. This is possible by providing not just the infrastructure but also the technology platform that ABDM envisages building. This platform will help gradually move the health system from one focused on promotive and preventive health, to one that will also focus on predictive health.”
Sharing his thoughts on Karnataka’s Vision on Digital Health, Dr Sudhakar added, “During our fight against COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the importance of digital services for healthcare delivery. The impact that teleconsultation, online appointment bookings, readily available health information and access to specialists had on people was unprecedented. We’re positive that the ABDM platform will help us scale the efforts and create a conducive environment with enthusiastic public and private sector participation. We look forward to taking up implementation of ABDM in mission mode and giving it speed, scalability and support that we can provide at the state-level to achieve the ultimate aim of healthcare for all.”
Speaking on the vision behind the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), Dr RS Sharma, CEO, NHA said, “India is standing at the forefront of a digital revolution. The world has seen the success story of our country with the largest digital identity programme, record adoption of digital payments and more recently, the national vaccination programme via CoWIN platform. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission aims to replicate this success in healthcare delivery by building an equitable, accessible and inclusive ecosystem that rides on collaborative efforts of the government and private sector.”
The conclave also saw a special address by Jawaid Akhtar, Additional Chief Secretary to Govt of Karnataka, Health & Family Welfare Services on the importance of improving healthcare through digital innovations. Dr Praveen Gedam, Additional CEO, NHA and Mission Director for ABDM elaborated on the opportunities this program presents for the entire ecosystem.
NASSCOM played a key role in gathering thought leaders from the health and technology sector for panel discussions on how to drive usage of digital health and the role of innovators in the digital health stack. The panellists included heads of health tech organisations in India (in no particular order) like Arthur D Little India, Manipal Hospitals, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Royal Philips, Indegene, Quadria Capital, Medi Assist, Tata Elxsi, Narayana Health, DRiefcase, CrelioHealth, Plus91 and EkaCare.
Dedicated sessions were also held on the opportunities under ABDM for the healthcare ecosystem and Unified Health Interface (UHI) & Health Claims Exchange (HCX) as accelerators for digital health. Besides the sessions and panel discussions, health tech innovators Artivatic, Ala Care and Raxa Health also set up innovation booths at the event venue. The thought leaders concluded the NHA-NASSCOM Conclave 2022 with an exciting brainstorming session on ways to increase the adoption of teleconsultation in India.
