The Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) is planning to set up a public digital infrastructure with individuals, doctors and health records connected to a grid as part of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM).

The institute in collaboration with 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.

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

PGIMER director Dr Jagat Ram said they had received intimation from the Union health ministry to develop the system for which they had appointed a nodal officer.

“Last year we received 30 lakh patients, so maintaining the record is a huge task. The activity will be completed in a time-bound manner, and all norms of data privacy will be strictly adhered to,” he said.

Dr Ram has nominated Dr Sarita Mahajan, chief medical officer, Staff Clinic, as the nodal officer for the purpose of support and cooperation with the National Health Agency (NHA).

Gaurav Kumar Dhawan, deputy director of administration, PGIMER, said discussions with NHA, which was implementing the system, were underway.

“In this regard Dr Indu Bhushan, CEO, Ayushman Bharat, had visited the institute and delivered a detailed presentation of NDHM implementation. We will be holding more meetings on the requirements and development of this system. We presented our digital system to them and more features will be added,” Dhawan said.

Among the first features 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 also be compiled 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.