Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the National Digital Health Mission from the ramparts of the Red Fort in his Independence Day address to the nation. This mission aims to put in place an ecosystem that will make it easier for citizens to access medical services by digitising health record and storing it on a unique digital id.

The scheme will be rolled out in the 6 Union Territories of Chandigarh, Lakshwadweep, Puducherry, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on a pilot base. The mission will be rolled out under the existing Ayushman Bharat Programme

The NITI Aayog in 2018 had proposed a centralised database to store the details of each health id holder. According to the National Health Authority, the id would be created by using a person’s basic details and mobile number or Aadhaar number.

The key questions that we are asking today are – firstly,  why is there a need to create a separate health id, when we already have the Aadhaar. Why can’t the health records be merged with that?

Secondly, what protocols are the government exactly looking at to ensure data security? Who will collect, store and own the data? Will third party providers get access to the data?

To answer some of those questions CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan spoke to CEO of Ayushman Bharat Dr Indu Bhushan.