The Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), functioning within the framework of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), represents an essential effort by the Indian Government to further healthcare digitisation. This initiative also referred to as the health ID initiative, seeks to develop a unified health data repository for all Indian citizens. Individuals possessing an ABHA can retrieve their medical records electronically from any place at any given time. The ABHA database operates as a centralised repository for health data, offering a platform for health awareness, standardisation of practices, and efficient public health communication.
In the last ten years, India's healthcare sector has seen notable advancements, diminishing the disparity between rural and urban healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth and digital medical innovations, reshaping the healthcare landscape. Nonetheless, it underscored preexisting healthcare inequalities impacting ethnic and racial minorities, rural populations, the underprivileged, and the elderly. Government-led initiatives involving controlled supply chains endeavoured to mitigate these disparities. Concurrently, healthcare providers and MedTech companies adjusted to the evolving norms, prioritising healthcare digitisation as a pivotal enabler.
ABHA facilitates easier sharing of health-related information, equipping individuals with an enhanced level of oversight over their medical care and personal data. The process of ABHA implementation across all states presents a multitude of challenges, which encompass engaging the participation of private entities and state administrations, handling issues pertaining to interoperability, and addressing of biases of a linguistic and social nature. The diagram below emphasizes the key requests from the ABHA Ecosystem for each stakeholder.
Technology holds the key to successful implementation and widespread acceptance of ABHA. MedTech companies are key partners to develop in-country for-country frugal solutions. Requests from each stakeholder in the ABHA ecosystem must be addressed. The key challenge for MedTech companies is to innovate and find solutions that will reduce cost, improve accessibility and personalization with ABHA as the pivot.
Challenges MedTech companies will face in the Indian context are listed below,
1. User-Friendliness and Accessibility: Ensuring that ABHA interfaces are intuitive and easy to use for patients and healthcare providers. Localization is a key aspect of this platform in a country as linguistically diverse as India.
2. Privacy and Security Concerns: Addressing data privacy and security to protect sensitive health information. Adherence to guidelines and accountability for MedTech companies is crucial.
3. Reducing Bias and Localization: Developing solutions that account for cultural and regional variations and reducing bias.
4. Bridging the Digital Divide: Ensuring equitable access to ABHA across different socioeconomic backgrounds is key for large-scale adoption.
Though the challenges are many technological advancements are also gearing up to the task at hand. MedTech companies need to get ABHA into the ecosystem to cater to the stakeholders. Companies invested in secure sustainable data storage will be tested for scale in a country like India. Current offerings must be improved for the data requirements of a large population like India. A robust digital backbone delivering seamless access to data with centralized regulations will be key for the digital healthcare transformation. Availability and lean footprint of data which is completely tracked with ABHA as the primary healthcare ID can solve healthcare equity problems for the masses and ensure the government bodies of effective utilization of resources, this will also be instrumental in bookkeeping for audits if any.
Enormous data collected and tracked via a central identification will help all stakeholders to tailor personalized healthcare. Linking ABHA will enable personalized insurance for an individual based on the comorbidities and ensure easy claims processing. AI-driven technology that will use ABHA to predict healthcare needs will be the way to plan for the individual and the Government to define healthcare policy clearly mapping it to a region/population.
Communication to a large population with specific information for a government at times of a health crisis is a herculean task, Specific information needs to be shared with the targeted audience based on geographical locations, and ABHA is used as a pivot to engage for such special communications will be a boon. Designing using AR and VR technologies centrally and communicating it to a specific group will help resolve panic-like situations.
MedTech OEMs producing mobile applications, wearable devices, and prevention or post-treatment monitoring systems can also use ABHA as a connection link to the national health ecosystem ensuring that they are part of the overall digital mission. It would also entail a “Make in India” Program like SAMEER, a government organization that works with commercial medical device makers to design and develop domestic, reasonably priced medical products.
ABHA is a Government of India initiative to drive a health identity for each citizen under the ABDM. MedTech companies are key liaison to the government to provide economical & equitable solutions for a country as diverse as India. Technologies like telehealth used for remote monitoring integrated with ABHA will enable seamless care delivery. Data and AI applications for better-personalized care and health financials will be best pivoted on ABHA as an identifier. MedTech companies contributing to solutions that integrate ABHA will also be benefited by being complaint with future government programs like Make in India.
The author is Vice President, Engineering Multi-Market, Bosch Global Software Technologies, Member of NATHEALTH
