New Delhi: Citizens will soon be able to access and share medical records, book OPD appointments, locate nearby hospitals, call ambulances and access Ayushman Bharat services through a single mobile application as the Centre launches Aarogya Setu 2.0 on Monday.Union health minister J P Nadda will also launch a series of digital health initiatives aimed at connecting patients, hospitals, laboratories and insurers through a common digital health network.Originally launched during the Covid-19 pandemic as a contact-tracing app, Aarogya Setu has now been transformed into a personal health record application. The revamped app will allow users to create and manage their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), access and share digital health records, register for OPD visits using Scan & Register, make hospital payments through Scan & Pay, receive medicine reminders and manage the health records of family members.The app will also help users find nearby hospitals, doctors, ambulance services, blood banks with real-time blood availability and Jan Aushadhi Kendras. It will provide access to Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY services, including hospital search, Ayushman Card services, treatment history, grievance redressal and beneficiary support.The Centre will also launch Ayushman Sarathi, a WhatsApp chatbot that will enable beneficiaries to check eligibility, locate empanelled hospitals and access key PM-JAY services through a conversational interface, making PM-JAY services easier to access.Another major initiative, the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX), seeks to reduce paperwork and speed up settlement of health insurance claims by creating a common digital platform for hospitals and insurers to exchange claims information across both public and private health insurance schemes.The Centre will also launch eSushrut@Clinic, a cloud-based clinic management system developed by C-DAC for small private clinics, with the platform also being made available to primary health centres, health and wellness centres and sub-centres. The software will help digitise patient registration, billing and electronic health records. It will be offered free for the first three months before being made available at Rs 299 a month for up to five users under an arrangement with the National Health Authority. More than 800 health facilities have already been onboarded on eSushrut@Clinic, while the full-fledged eSushrut hospital management system has been deployed in over 15 AIIMS and several state government hospitals.Officials said the initiatives are expected to make healthcare services easier to access while reducing paperwork and enabling hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies and insurers to exchange health information seamlessly.
