India has taken the digital inclusion approach to ensure maximum impact of its health interventions for public, Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel said on February 27.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the 'International Digital Health Symposium' here, Patel stated that the government's policies have essentially included the affordability, accessibility and availability of healthcare services to all citizens as an action item. "We have successfully been able to provide healthcare to each citizen through various interventions. It is here we are leveraging digital health interventions to maximize impact," she added.

Patel also inaugurated the exhibition on Digital Health as part of the symposium, where participant countries along with various government ministries, states and other stakeholders showcased key innovations, implementation experiences and innovative Digital Health Interventions.

The Digital Health Symposium follows the two-day Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) summit and allows wide engagement with innovators, clinical leaders, academia, researchers, healthcare establishments, government representatives, international and national technical experts, entrepreneurs and the research community, the health ministry said in a statement.

V K Paul, member of NITI Aayog, said India is ready to take the big leap in digital health. "India shall soon be unveiling the National Health Stack and is focused on creating digital revolution encompassing national nutrition mission, telemedicine and other interventions with focus on aspirational districts. We envision that by the year 2022, all 1.3 billion Indians will have digital health records," Paul said.

Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, World Health Organization, South-East Asia Region, stated that adequate planning and designing with focus on people-centred care, adhering to standard and guidelines and inter-operable solutions, can save time and money. "WHO will facilitate the collaboration and to establish specific mechanism to centrally coordinate digital health to assist among key stakeholders in member states for sustainable introduction of digital technologies and maximize the use of digital health, she said.

Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan stated that ministers and government officials from over 34 countries attended the 4th Global Digital Health Partnership Summit, and the Delhi Declaration on Digital Health adopted affirms the attainment of sustainable development goals and to improve the health and wellbeing of citizens through the best use of evidence based digital technologies.