Stresses creation of comprehensive digital health records for every citizen
Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a review meeting to assess the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) across Jammu and Kashmir, with particular focus on the progress achieved under its key components, adoption of digital health solutions, and their impact on healthcare delivery at the grassroots level.
The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary, Health & Medical Education Department; Mission Director, National Health Mission; Managing Director, ABDM J&K; Principal, GMC, Srinagar/Jammu; Director, Health Services, Jammu; senior officers of the Health & Medical Education Department, and other concerned officers.
During the review, the Chief Secretary underscored that the core objective of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is the creation of comprehensive digital health records for every individual, and stressed that all efforts under the Mission must remain aligned with this fundamental goal.
He observed that while substantial progress has been achieved in creation of ABHA IDs and digital health infrastructure, the ultimate measure of success would be the availability of complete, secure and interoperable digital health records for every citizen.
To realise this objective, Dulloo directed theMissionto put in place a well-defined implementation strategy with clearly identified milestones for progressively enhancing the generation and linkage of electronic health records across the Union Territory.
He emphasised that implementation of the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) should be expedited in all healthcare institutions, with primary focus on public health facilities, so that every patient interaction contributes towards building comprehensive digital health records.
He further directed that the number of ABHA IDs created should progressively be brought at par with the number of Ayushman Bharat Golden Cards issued in the Union Territory, with targets fixed and closely monitored as important milestones towards achieving universal digital health coverage.
The Chief Secretary also stressed the need to maximise utilisation of citizen-centric services available through the JK Sehat App. He called upon the department to promote greater public uptake of home healthcare services, online doctor appointment booking, tele-consultation facilities and doorstep delivery of medicines through local pharmacies, observing that these services have immense potential to improve accessibility, convenience and quality of healthcare delivery for the people.
Appreciating the JK Sehat App as a comprehensive digital healthcare platform,the Chief Secretary observed that the Department has developed an excellent online product catering to the needs of citizens as well as healthcare professionals.
He directed that the application should be further strengthened by enriching its knowledge repository with additional academic resources, digital library content and medical courses for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students, thereby transforming it into a robust learning and knowledge-sharing platform alongside its healthcare service delivery functions.
The Chief Secretary further instructed the department to undertake a comprehensive assessment of operational bottlenecks affecting implementation of various digital health initiatives and resolve them in close coordination with all stakeholders, including healthcare institutions, technical agencies and implementing partners, so as to ensure seamless delivery of services and achievement of the Mission objectives within the prescribed timelines.
During the meeting, the Commissioner Secretary, H&ME, M.Rajuremarked that Jammu and Kashmir has made significant strides in implementing the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and has emerged as one of the leading performers in the country.
He apprisedthat the Union Territory was recently conferred the National Award by the Health Authority for achieving the highest Health Record Linking per lakh population among medium-sized States and Union Territories. Earlier this year, J&K was also recognised for its best-performing model healthcare facilities under the Mission.
Reviewing the progress achieved since the last assessment, the Chief Secretary was informed by MD, ABDM, Ananth Dwivedi that over 1.12 crore ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) IDs have been created in the Union Territory, covering nearly 83 percent of the estimated population. The number of ABHA-linked electronic health records has increased substantially, while more than 1.34 crore Scan & Share tokens have been generated, reflecting increased citizen adoption of digital healthcare services.
He further divulged that 100 percent registration of public healthcare facilities, doctors and nurses on the Health Facility Registry (HFR) and Health Professional Registry (HPR) has been achieved, ensuring complete onboarding of the public healthcare ecosystem onto the national digital health platform. The action points identified during the previous review meeting, including universal registration of public doctors, generation of unique health records and integration of radiology and imaging reports with ABHA IDs, have also been successfully accomplished.
Reviewing district-wise performance, the Chief Secretary directed the Deputy Commissioners, Chief Medical Officers and district health authorities to intensify focused campaigns in districts requiring further improvement so that universal ABHA coverage is achieved within the stipulated timeline. He stressed that every eligible citizen visiting a health institution should be facilitated in creating an ABHA ID at the point of service, while sustained awareness campaigns and inter-departmental convergence should continue to accelerate saturation across the Union Territory.
The Chief Secretary also reviewed the implementation of the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) under the JK e-Sahaj platform and the transition to the Next Generation e-Hospital solution. He was informed that JK e-Sahaj has already been implemented in more than one hundred healthcare facilities across the Union Territory, while 85 hospitals have already been onboarded onto the Next Gen HMIS platform. The remaining identified institutions are expected to be onboarded within the next two weeks, after which phased implementation of registration, IPD, pharmacy, laboratory and radiology modules will be undertaken.
Moreover the progress of Scan & Share, Electronic Medical Record (EMR) generation and digital health record linkage across healthcare facilities was also reviewed in detail. It was revealed that the majority of patients visiting government hospitals are now availing digital registration services through Scan & Share, while continuous efforts are being made to improve EMR generation and strengthen linkage of laboratory, pharmacy and radiology reports with ABHA IDs.
The meeting was further apprised about the increasing adoption of the JK Sehat App, which provides citizens access to a wide range of digital health services including Scan & Share, ABHA creation, health record viewing, blood bank services, online appointments, tele-consultation, ambulance services, home healthcare and pharmacy services to the citizens.
The platform has registered over 15.5 lakh citizens, while lakhs of users have availed different healthcare services through the application. Officers informed that the latest version of the application now includes Health Locker and enhanced digital health functionalities for greater citizen convenience.
While reviewing the roadmap ahead, the Chief Secretary directed the department to achieve 100 percent ABHA saturation, strengthen generation of ABHA-linked electronic health records, maximise utilisation of Scan & Share services in hospitals, and expand ABDM-enabled HMIS implementation across all healthcare institutions of the UT.