What happened: government push for ABDM, responsible AI and AI-enabled healthcare

The Government of India highlighted efforts led by the Department of Health & Family Welfare to build a robust digital health ecosystem and promote responsible, evidence-based use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. The Government also connected these efforts to national initiatives for wider access to datasets and AI building blocks through the IndiaAI Mission and AIKosh.

Key claims shared in the government communication include the following.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is creating an interoperable, open-standards-based digital health ecosystem.The ecosystem has over 96 crore ABHA IDs.More than 1,000 crore health records are digitally linked across healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals.AI-enabled applications support early detection of diseases such as tuberculosis and diabetic retinopathy.AI-enabled clinical decision support is delivered through eSanjeevani.eSanjeevani has benefited more than 20 crore patients.

Background and earlier position: digital health as an interoperable infrastructure

ABDM is described by the Government as an open-standards-based effort to support interoperability across the health sector. In practical terms, interoperability means that different healthcare systems can exchange and use information using agreed standards, instead of keeping data isolated inside one system.

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