Chandigarh is among four other union territories (UTs) in India that will get a strong public digital infrastructure with individuals, doctors and health facilities connected to a grid as part of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), the UT health department announced on Monday.

NDHM will provide a comprehensive health ecosystem that will have digitally empowered individuals, doctors, and health facilities, facilitate electronic signatures, enabling paperless registrations and payments, leading to streamlining of healthcare information.

Four systems are to be developed in the first phase which will be implemented in the UTs of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

Among the first systems to be rolled out will be the digital health identifier, ‘swasthya account’, which will help individuals create their identity in the national healthcare system for ease of access to their personal health information.

A comprehensive central repository known as ‘digi doctor’ will be made of all healthcare providers and practitioners (HCPs), uniquely identified in India, to provide a one-stop solution for streamlined medical practice.

A health facility registry will collate information on healthcare facilities uniquely identified in India, which will maintain, store and facilitate exchange of standardised data.

The system will digitise health records of patients, inclusive of various documents such as diagnostic report, discharge summary, and prescription, shared by various health establishments and doctors to help patients effectively manage their care.