From Clinics to Cloud: How BMC Alumni Are Powering Digital Health in India

ACCESS Health International is collaborating with the BMC 1994 Association and the Karnataka Digital Health Society to support the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). This initiative focuses on integrating digital tools into healthcare delivery to enhance accessibility, efficiency, and continuity of care.

On December 6th, ACCESS Health conducted an orientation webinar for members of the BMC 1994 Association—a network of over 300 clinical experts from Bangalore Medical College's 1994 batch. The session aimed to facilitate the adoption of ABDM frameworks across healthcare facilities and individual practices.

The webinar covered:

• Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA): Enabling patients to create digital health IDs, ensuring secure access to health records across institutions.
• Health Facility and Professional Registries: Establishing standardized, verified databases to improve system transparency and interoperability.
• Unified Health Interface (UHI): Standardizing digital health service delivery, promoting seamless communication between patients and providers, and streamlining clinical workflows.

Participants discussed practical steps for integrating these digital platforms within their respective healthcare settings, emphasizing the importance of interoperability, patient data privacy, and alignment with national health policies.

The session was led by Dr. Vasanth Kumar, Assistant Deputy Director & State Nodal Officer, Karnataka Digital Health Society, with contributions from Dr. Suma, Regional Coordinator, and Dr. Susheel Kumar, Project Manager.

Key speakers included:

• Dr. Rathan Kelkar IAS, Secretary IT, Government of Kerala
• Dr. Vijay Singh, Director - Karnataka Cluster and Corporate Growth Initiatives (South), Narayana Health Group of Hospitals
• Dr. Sandhya Raghu, PMSSY Hospital, Bangalore

ACCESS Health's Karnataka team, led by Himani Sethi, Global Director Programs, and Dr S Dhananjaya Naidu, Lead Partnerships and Innovations, coordinated the event.

The BMC 1994 Association and ACCESS Health International have formalized their partnership through an MOU to advance health systems research, policy formulation, and program implementation, with a focus on strengthening digital health infrastructure at the state level.

This initiative represents a step towards creating a more integrated and patient-centric healthcare system in India by supporting the adoption of digital health innovations across various levels of care.

#HealthSystems #DigitalHealth #ABDM #ACCESSHealthInternational #HealthInnovation