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A Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) has been made public by the National Health Authority (NHA) for use by stakeholders in the healthcare industry. According to a news release from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the primary aim of this scheme is to increase health transactions in India under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
This scheme will incentivise hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and businesses that provide digital health solutions like Hospital/Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) and Laboratory Management Information Systems (LMIS). According to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, eligible health facilities and digital solutions providers will be eligible for financial incentives of up to rupees four crores under the DHIS, depending on the number of digital health records they create and link to ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account).
This incentive is available to health facilities (hospitals and diagnostic labs) registered with ABDM’s Health Facility Registry (HFR) and meeting the eligibility criteria.
The aim, according to Dr RS Sharma, CEO of NHA, is to promote digital health by encouraging healthcare facilities and software companies to participate in the ABDM scheme. "We believe that this scheme will encourage more healthcare facilities and digital software companies to join ABDM in providing patient-centric healthcare. We are encouraging the adoption of digital health through this financial incentive scheme."
"We're also including solution (HMIS/ LMIS) providers in the incentive scheme so that they can encourage other health facilities to join and help strengthen the ecosystem," Dr Sharma added. Other citizen-centric programmes, such as UPI, TB case notification, Janani Suraksha Yojana, and others, have benefited from incentives."
What is ABDM?
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It is an initiative launched by the government to strengthen the digital infrastructure of the healthcare ecosystem.
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It aims to bridge the digital gap between the stakeholders.
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It provides a comprehensive system of record of the country's health facilities across various medical systems. It covers public and private healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories and imaging centres, pharmacies, and so on.
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The Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number will be generated for persons, which will be used to identify and thread their records (with their consent) across multiple facilities nationwide.
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Health records linked to the ABHA number will help the healthcare providers in better decision-making, as the digital comprehensive patient records will be available at one click.
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The public and private facilities will have to register their institutions under the Health Facility Registry (HFR).
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Enrolling in the Health Facility Registry will enable them to connect to India's digital health ecosystem.
What are the incentives available?
Healthcare facilities with ten or more beds, laboratory/radiology diagnostic centres, and digital solution providers would be eligible for incentives (entities providing ABDM-enabled digital solutions).
Image via PIB (govt source)
Image via PIB (govt source)
The incentives for public-sector facilities will be added to the funds under Rogi Kalyan Samiti. The initial financial outlay for the incentive scheme is estimated to be Rs. 50 crores for six months beginning January 1, 2023.