Cabinet Approves Implementation of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission UPSC: Relevance

• GS 2: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission: Context

• Recently, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the national roll-out of Central Sector Scheme, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission: Key points

• The ABDM mission has been launched with a total outlay of Rs.1,600 crore for five years.
• The National Health Authority (NHA) will be the implementing agency of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

What is Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission?

• Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to create a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide-range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal information.
• Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission aims to connect the digital health solutions of hospitals across the country with each other.
• Under this program, every citizen will now get a digital health ID and their health record will be digitally protected.
• The mission was first implemented on a pilot basis in six Union Territories—Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry.
• After the successful demonstration of technology platform developed by the NHA, the cabinet has rolled out its nationwide implementation.
• The initiative is designed to benefit the poor and middle class, specifically in finding the right doctor and a hospital.

ABDM benefits

• The Mission will not only make the processes of hospitals simplified but also will increase ease of living.
• The platform will make the entire ecosystem related to treatment and healthcare policy more effective.
• Doctors and hospitals will be able to use this platform to provide remote health service.
• Also, with effective and reliable data, this will improve treatment and also save patients.
• With the help of this initiative, information on doctors will reach everyone. People will know about doctors who are knowledgeable and their speciality.

ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account): A digital ID

• Under the ABDM, citizens will be able to create their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) numbers, to which their digital health records can be linked.

ABHA benefits

• The digital ID will help the doctors and the patients to check the old records.
• Not only this, there will also be registration of colleagues like doctors, nurses, paramedics.
• Moreover, the hospitals, clinics, labs, medicine shops in the country, all these will be registered.

About Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)

• Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
• It is an umbrella of two major health initiatives, namely
  • Health and wellness Centres and
  • National Health Protection Scheme.

AB-PMJAY benefits

• AB-PMJAY provides a cover of 5 lakh per family per year for almost all secondary care and most of tertiary care procedures.
• There is no cap on family size and age in the scheme to ensure that nobody is left out (especially women, children and elderly).
• The benefit cover will also include pre and post-hospitalisation
• A defined transport allowance per hospitalization will also be paid to the beneficiary.
• Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country.
• The beneficiaries can avail benefits in both public and empanelled private facilities.
• Hospitals belonging to Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) may also be empanelled based on the bed occupancy ratio parameter.
• To control costs, the payments for treatment will be done on package rate (to be defined by the Government in advance) basis.

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