Srinagar: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Monday reviewed the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in Jammu and Kashmir and directed the Health and Medical Education Department to accelerate the creation of comprehensive digital health records for every citizen.
Chairing a review meeting, Dulloo said the mission’s primary objective was to create secure and interoperable digital health records and stressed that all initiatives under the programme should remain aligned with that goal.
He directed the department to prepare a structured implementation strategy with defined milestones to expand the generation and linkage of electronic health records across the Union Territory. He also called for expediting the rollout of the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) in healthcare institutions, particularly public hospitals, so that every patient interaction contributes to building digital health records.
The Chief Secretary further directed that the number of Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs should progressively match the number of Ayushman Bharat Golden Cards issued in the Union Territory, with fixed targets and regular monitoring.
Emphasising greater use of citizen-centric digital services, Dulloo asked the department to promote the JK Sehat App, including home healthcare, online appointments, tele-consultation and doorstep medicine delivery through local pharmacies. He also suggested strengthening the app by adding academic resources, digital library content and medical learning material for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The Chief Secretary instructed the department to identify operational bottlenecks affecting digital health initiatives and resolve them in coordination with healthcare institutions, technical agencies and implementing partners.
Commissioner Secretary, Health and Medical Education, M. Raju, informed the meeting that Jammu and Kashmir had emerged among the leading performers under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and had recently received a national award for recording the highest health record linkage per lakh population among medium-sized states and Union Territories.
Managing Director, ABDM J&K, Ananth Dwivedi, informed the meeting that more than 1.12 crore ABHA IDs had been created, covering nearly 83 per cent of the estimated population. He said over 1.34 crore Scan & Share tokens had been generated, indicating increased adoption of digital health services.
The meeting was informed that all public healthcare facilities, doctors and nurses had been registered on the Health Facility Registry and Health Professional Registry, while action points identified during the previous review, including integration of radiology and imaging reports with ABHA IDs, had been completed.
Reviewing district-wise performance, Dulloo directed Deputy Commissioners, Chief Medical Officers and district health authorities to intensify campaigns in districts with lower coverage and ensure that every eligible citizen visiting a health facility is assisted in creating an ABHA ID.
The Chief Secretary also reviewed the implementation of the Hospital Management Information System under the JK e-Sahaj platform and the transition to the Next Generation e-Hospital system. Officials informed the meeting that JK e-Sahaj had been implemented in more than 100 healthcare facilities, while 85 hospitals had already been onboarded to the Next Generation HMIS platform. The remaining institutions are expected to be integrated within the next two weeks.
The meeting also reviewed progress on electronic medical record generation, digital health record linkage and adoption of the JK Sehat App, which now has more than 15.5 lakh registered users and offers services including ABHA creation, digital health records, blood bank services, online appointments, tele-consultation, ambulance services and home healthcare.
Concluding the review, Dulloo directed the department to achieve 100 per cent ABHA coverage, strengthen the generation of ABHA-linked electronic health records, maximise the use of Scan & Share services and expand ABDM-enabled HMIS across all healthcare institutions in Jammu and Kashmir.