What Do We Propose?

[Go to the main IndiMR Site]

To fulfill its pledge of “Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas” (Together, Progress for All), the Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s government is actively pursuing many measures to bring tangible benefits to the people. Several bold reforms in different areas are a testimony to the government’s commitment to this goal. In all its efforts, GoI has been keen to maximize the impact by use of Information Technology. However, the government is yet to adopt IT at a scale that matches its vision and ambition for healthcare.

Despite notable gains in the last decade, India scores poorly in healthcare, as compared to many other nations. For example, India ranks 143 out of 188 nations, on the World Bank’s Universal Health Coverage Index (2016). Health is the hallmark of a nation’s well-being. For the nation to meet its economic goals, it needs healthy citizens.

Some of the initiatives announced recently are aimed at addressing many deficiencies in the country’s healthcare system. However, we believe that India’s healthcare cannot achieve its full potential without a matching National Health Information Infrastructure. Even many of the newly announced measures are likely to be successful only with effective use of information technology.

This government, more than any other in the past, is fully aware of the catalytic power of information technology, which makes it best placed to revolutionize national healthcare sector, by exploiting the power of Information Technology.

We propose, India should launch a public-private project to create a cloud-based National Electronic Medical Record System (NEMRS). The Electronic Medical Record system should be created in a government funded open source project in partnership with the private sector companies. Part of the infrastructure created could also be delegated to the private sector. It should be made available to all healthcare providers and organizations in the country, free of cost. The data could remain in the custody of the healthcare providers, or stored in cloud services provided by the government, even though its legal ownership would belong to the patients.

Looking at the many problems that Indian healthcare faces, many have proposed implementing the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) like administrative structure to provide healthcare in India. However, this has its own drawbacks and challenges. With a NEMRS like system, it is possible to centralize many of the functions of NHS, gaining from economies of scale, while avoiding many of its challenges. Additionally, it can help transition Indian healthcare from a predominantly curative-oriented one, to a prevention-oriented one.

A strategic ICT initiative in healthcare, for a small investment, can transform not just Indian healthcare but also the technology sector. Just as the advent of mobile telephony allowed India to leapfrog several steps in addressing its telecommunication needs, we believe, use of ICT allows a similar opportunity to revolutionize healthcare in India.

India is in a unique position to launch a bold initiative, and the time for it is opportune.

In the following sections, we will briefly discuss several critical problems that beset Indian healthcare and how NEMRS can help overcome them. We will also cover, why now is the perfect time for India to launch this project.