Empowering Healthcare Access Through India’s Digital Health Initiatives

Our CEO, Ayush Jain , recently published an article for Express Computer titled “India’s digital healthcare program promises to democratize healthcare for all.” The article delves into India’s healthcare challenges and the opportunities EHRs offer to transform the healthcare industry.?

India faces significant challenges in offering affordable and accessible healthcare to all its citizens. Most of India is in rural areas where healthcare services are often limited. Most hospitals, about 69%, are situated in urban cities, leaving rural healthcare neglected and unequal. Even basic healthcare facilities in rural areas lack resources and staff, failing to meet the requirements of two-thirds of the population.?

One of the major issues is insufficient funding. Compared to neighboring countries like China and Nepal, India allocates a much lower percentage of its GDP to healthcare, i.e., only 2.96% in 2020. Such limited investment affects rural communities, leading to untreated diseases and the need for long travel to access the desired care.

For many years, experts have discussed using advanced technologies to bridge these healthcare gaps. Telehealth and telemedicine have shown some success, but India’s large population requires an innovative approach to improve healthcare access for everyone.?

EHRs offer a solution by digitalizing healthcare records. While EHRs are popular in the West, India has been slower to adopt them. In countries like the US, Europe, and Australia, almost every hospital and many doctors use EHRs, benefiting large populations.?

The Indian government is actively promoting the widespread adoption of EHRs. In 2016, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare established EHR standards to create a uniform system for maintaining healthcare records. Additionally, initiatives like the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission have developed over 56 crores of Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA), with an increase in the number of EHRs available.?

Similar to the US's approach over the past decade, India is incentivizing the adoption of EHRs through schemes like the Digital Health Incentives Scheme. Despite these efforts, the current enrollment in the incentive scheme could be higher, with fewer than 1,700 healthcare facilities participating. Many Indian hospitals and healthcare providers still rely on paper-based or proprietary record systems that may not meet EHR standards.

However, as EHR adoption increases and systems become more interoperable, there is potential for significant healthcare transformation in India. This shift will benefit rural communities and healthcare providers, marking a crucial step towards improved healthcare accessibility and efficiency.

Integrating EHRs with telemedicine platforms can greatly enhance remote healthcare services, especially in rural areas. This includes improved diagnostics, consultations, and patient monitoring from a distance. It also allows for shifting certain specialized tests to local healthcare settings, with specialists from larger cities managing patients remotely.

AI-powered clinical support systems, when linked with EHRs, enable doctors to handle more patients efficiently without compromising quality. This is crucial in India, which has a shortage of skilled medical professionals. Remote monitoring tools connected to EHRs can analyze data from patient wearables, quickly identify health issues, and prompt timely interventions by healthcare providers.

Going further, the application of predictive analytics on anonymized aggregate-level data is poised to significantly contribute to identifying and mitigating large at-risk populations through proactive preventive measures. This sophisticated application paves the way for a healthcare strategy that is comprehensive and yet targeted at the most vulnerable communities. The combination of AI and EHR will open whole new possibilities. AI systems are considered silent monitors of the EHR world, meticulously examining patient data to provide customized treatment suggestions and diagnostic insights. Moreover, Natural Language Processing skillfully generates organized data from disorganized clinical notes, improving the precision with each step.

Finally, the pervasive adoption of EHR also promises to usher in patient autonomy and engagement improvements. By actively involving individuals in their healthcare decision-making process, the solutions foster a sense of responsibility among patients, encouraging adherence to treatment plans and preventive measures. The transparency and accessibility provided by these systems can even alleviate the burden on an already overburdened healthcare system and ultimately contribute to improved patient satisfaction and healthcare outcomes.

The possibilities with a nationwide EHR system are endless, and it can even potentially democratize quality healthcare for all Indians – bringing healthcare delivery in India at par with those of developed nations with much smaller populations. Accelerated adoption of EHR will help bring this dream to fruition, but so will suitable policy-level interventions that ensure its optimal utilization by physicians and healthcare providers.