The National Health Authority (NHA) and NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies) jointly organized the NHA-NASSCOM Conclave 2022 on Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission – Revolutionizing Digital Health. The Conclave was held in Bengaluru today as a hybrid event with participation of over 400 stakeholders and industry veterans from the healthcare & technology sector as well as investor community in India in physical/ virtual mode.

The chief guest for the event, Hon’ble Minister of Health & Family Welfare, and Medical Education, Govt. of Karnataka - Dr. K. Sudhakar said - “Ayushman Bharat or long life for all Indians can be ensured when quality healthcare can be provided to one and all. This is possible by providing not just the infrastructure but also the technology platform that ABDM envisages to build. This platform will help gradually move the health system from one focused on promotive and preventive health, to one that will also focus on predictive health.”

Sharing his thoughts on Karnataka’s Vision on Digital Health, Dr. Sudhakar added – “During our fight against COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the importance of digital services for healthcare delivery. The impact that teleconsultation, online appointment bookings, readily available health information and access to specialists had on people was unprecedented. We’re positive that the ABDM platform will help us scale the efforts and create a conductive environment with enthusiastic public and private sector participation. We look forward to take up implementation of ABDM in mission mode and give it speed, scalability and support that we can provide at state-level to achieve the ultimate aim of healthcare for all.”

Speaking on the vision behind the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), Dr. R.S. Sharma, CEO, NHA said – “India is standing at the forefront of digital revolution. The world has seen the success story of our country with the largest digital identity program, record adoption of digital payments and more recently, national vaccination program via CoWIN platform. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission aims to replicate this success in healthcare delivery by building an equitable, accessible and inclusive ecosystem that rides on collaborative efforts of the government and private sector”.

The conclave also saw a special address by Shri Jawaid Akhtar, Additional Chief Secretary to Govt. of Karnataka, Health & Family Welfare Services on the importance of improving healthcare through digital innovations. Dr. Praveen Gedam, Additional CEO, NHA and Mission Director for ABDM elaborated on the opportunities this program presents for the entire ecosystem.

NASSCOM played a key role in gathering thought leaders from the health & technology sector for panel discussions on how to drive usage of digital health and the role of innovators in digital health stack. The panelists included heads of health tech organizations in India (in no particular order) like Arthur D. Little India, Manipal Hospitals, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Royal Philips, Indegene, Quadria Capital, Medi Assist, Tata Elxsi, Narayana Health, DRiefcase, CrelioHealth, Plus91 and EkaCare.

Dedicated sessions were also held on the opportunities under ABDM for the healthcare ecosystem and Unified Health Interface (UHI) & Health Claims Exchange (HCX) as accelerators for digital health. Besides the sessions and panel discussions, health tech innovators Artivatic, Ala Care and Raxa Health also set-up innovation booths at the event venue. The thought leaders concluded the NHA-NASSCOM Conclave 2022 with an exciting brainstorming session on ways to increase the adoption of teleconsultation in India.