India aims to create and curate Digital Public Goods, says Dr Pawar
The government is working with stakeholders on the validation of digital health devices including wearables, AI equipment’s in health systems in appropriate settings, and thus, creation of an appropriate standards where technologies can be tested, Dr Vinod Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, said at an industry summit.
Addressing the Digital Health Summit 2023 in Goa on 16 Apr 2023, he urged the private sector to come forward with right thinking, ideas, vision and indeed solutions to use it for various products and possibilities.
He also emphasized on the importance of developing the capacity to process and create valuable insights from the digital data that is being created every day.
The summit was co-organised by the Confederate of Indian Industry (CII) and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
Digital innovations are powering game changers in exponential medicine, including 3D printing, point-of-care diagnostics, robots, bioinformatics, genomics, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, noted at the summit.
In addition to adoption of these technologies, she emphasised that “citizen-centric” digital health systems with equitable access to high-quality treatments must remain the aim.
She also talked about various initiatives taken by the Government such as Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), e-Sanjeevani Teleconsultation service, Ayushman Bharat-Prandhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) as well as CoWIN and their role in strengthening creation of a digital health ecosystem in the country.
Dr. Pawar said that these initiatives will help in achieving the goal of improving health service accessibility and equity across the country.
The Minister emphasized that it is high time that healthcare service delivery to the public is re-aligned to incorporate use of new technology.
“Emerging technologies like AI, the internet of things (IoT), Blockchain, 3-D printing in medical device manufacturing among others can help create a more holistic health ecosystem that improves health outcomes,” said Dr. Pawar.
“A global approach is often more effective and India under its G-20 Presidency has already prioritized digital health as one of its three health objectives, seeking global consensus on a global digital framework,” she informed.
Addressing the event, Goa Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant highlighted that health-tech is the most significant aspect of the fourth Industrial Revolution and taking pre-emptive steps remains the key.
“Goa is building one of best public health infrastructure in India and was first to launch universal healthcare insurance for the people in the form of Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY).”
While highlighting the quick implementation of digital services in the state, he said “Goa has been the 2nd fastest adopter of digital services in the country and has been giving enormous support to promote startup systems providing patient centric care with help of health-tech.”
He expected more public-private partnerships to attract investments in health-tech, especially backed by policy deliberations and required regulation. fiinews.com
