The Digital Health Mission has the potential to make medical insurance more efficient. The initiative, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day, will ensure seamless healthcare services through the health card.
Bhargav Dasgupta, ICIC Lombard General Insurance MD and CEO, told TOI the government’s Digital Health Mission would reduce disputes between insurers and policyholders. “When we are underwriting policies, you do not have to do unnecessary tests, and there is no scope for dispute that you have not disclosed something,” Dasgupta said. “The whole journey with customers can get streamlined, and we could eliminate a very large number of disputes in insurance.”
For the Digital Health Mission to take off positively, Dasgupta says cooperation of the states is essential. “There is a need for centre-state coordination on this, as some of this is in the domain of states. It is in the interest of everyone if you can bring discipline; there will be huge healthcare gains.”
The National Digital Health Mission has been created to improve efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of the health service in India. This initiative is being propelled by the National Health Authority (NHA) that brought the Ayushman Bharat scheme to fruition. The key feature of this mission is the technology component, which will leverage open digital systems to provide high-quality healthcare for all. It will also integrate various digital health services to create an ecosystem which can assimilate existing health information systems. The National Digital Health Blueprint, which was released in 2019, will create a system of personal health records based on international standards, and easily accessible to the citizens and to the service providers based on citizen-consent. It will ensure the quality of healthcare and leverage the information systems already existing in the health sector.
Under the NDHM, citizens will be allotted a health ID that will act as a repository for medical tests, aliment history, doctor consultations, diagnosis and medicines prescribed. This will help hospitals and doctors treat you better, even if you have to seek treatment in another city, and are not carrying your past reports. This will help take medical insurance to new heights as a digital repository of health records, combined with telemedical underwriting, can change the way policies are bought. Medical tests are usually required in high-value term and health policies. Insurers could use health records for efficient health risk assessment, depending on whether third-parties are allowed access, with the individual’s consent and after taking care of privacy concerns.
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