One citizen, one e-health record aim of digital health mission: Kerala CM

An electronic health record of every citizen accessible via an unique identifying number at any government hospital, telemedicine and online appointment booking are some of the features of the new Digital Health Mission project inaugurated at 50 state-run hospitals by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday.

The Chief Minister, during the online inauguration of the project, said that under this e-health scheme, health related details of all citizens would be stored at a data centre in the state and a unique identifying number or card would be issued to the patients which can be used at any government hospital in Kerala for availing treatment.

”One electronic health record for every citizen is the aim of the scheme,” Vijayan said.

This new system will ensure ease of access to doctors, regulation of patient crowds in out-patient departments (OPDs), easier referrals and also telemedicine facilities for online consultations, he said.

Besides that, infectious and lifestyle diseases as well as mother-child health protection would also be dealt with under the e-health scheme, he added.

Under the new system, health workers would visit homes to gather health details of all family members and in this way we will get a blueprint regarding the infectious and lifestyle diseases prevalent amongst the general public, he said.

Besides this, several emerging technology health projects like — diabetic retinopathy, blood bank traceability and vaccine coverage analysis — are also being launched by the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategy Council (K-DISC), the CM said during the online event.