NEW DELHI: As Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PM-JAY) and Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) have emerged as key pillars of India’s healthcare ecosystem, the focus now should be on wider adoption and effective utilisation of digital health initiatives, says Union Health Secretary, Punya Salila Srivastava.
Urging States and Union Territories to maximise the use of digital health services and applications, she said on Saturday that the true value of these initiatives lies in making them useful for citizens, healthcare professionals and health facilities alike.
Speaking at the two-day national review meeting on the two initiatives, Srivastava also underscored the importance of ensuring data privacy, cybersecurity and responsible use of health data to sustain public trust in the digital health ecosystem.
In the review meeting, officials discussed strengthening fund utilisation, improving financial planning and ensuring timely release and utilisation of grants by States and Union Territories.
Participants deliberated on revised grant-in-aid guidelines, fund management practices and measures to enhance financial accountability for the effective implementation of both flagship schemes.
Discussions also focused on state-led initiatives to strengthen health systems and improve financial sustainability under AB PM-JAY.
Kerala presented its integrated approach towards the convergence of state health protection programmes with AB-PM-JAY, highlighting the role of scheme convergence in expanding access to healthcare and strengthening financial protection.
While, Tamil Nadu shared its experience in claim revenue utilisation under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) and its integration with AB-PM-JAY, demonstrating how systematic reinvestment of claim revenues has strengthened public health institutions through investments in infrastructure, medical equipment, human resources and digital systems.
The Health Analytics and AI Unit of the National Health Authority (NHA) showcased advanced analytical tools developed to support evidence-based decision-making under AB PM-JAY.
Highlighting the growing adoption of digital health in medical education, Dr. Raghav Langer, Secretary, National Medical Commission (NMC), shared the Commission's ongoing efforts towards ABDM enablement across medical colleges.
He highlighted the integration of Hospital Management Information Systems (HMIS) with ABDM standards, wider adoption of ABHA-linked clinical records and the development of an NMC dashboard to facilitate technology-enabled and objective assessment of medical colleges through digital health indicators and clinical workload data.
The meeting also discussed the deployment of artificial intelligence in publicly funded healthcare, with Sarvam AI showcasing emerging AI-enabled solutions to strengthen clinical decision support, improve operational efficiency, enhance health system planning and enable more citizen-centric healthcare delivery. Participants emphasised the importance of responsible, safe and scalable adoption of AI technologies to strengthen India's digital health ecosystem.
Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, Chief Executive Officer, NHA, said that the review meeting "has become a two-way exchange of ideas and information, enabling States and the Centre to learn from each other and collectively strengthen the implementation of AB PM-JAY and ABDM."
He highlighted that the discussions had enabled states and UTs to review progress, exchange best practices and identify innovative solutions to implementation challenges.
Barnwal emphasised that greater use of digital health technologies, health analytics and evidence-based decision-making would be instrumental in improving programme implementation and service delivery.
He further expressed confidence that the deliberations would provide a strong roadmap for the next phase of AB-PM-JAY and ABDM, while reinforcing cooperative federalism and accelerating the country's digital health transformation.
