Sri Vijaya Puram, July 10: South Andaman has been selected as a Model District under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), with the Andaman and Nicobar Administration and the National Health Authority launching the initiative on Friday to accelerate the integration of digital healthcare services across the district.
The initiative was formally launched during a State-Level Workshop on the ABDM Model District Initiative for South Andaman held at Lemon Tree Hotel, Lamba Line. Organised in collaboration with the National Health Authority under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, the programme marked the beginning of efforts to establish a secure, integrated and patient-centric digital healthcare ecosystem in the district.
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission seeks to digitally connect citizens, hospitals, laboratories and healthcare providers through a unified platform, enabling seamless access to healthcare services and interoperable digital health records across the country.
The inaugural programme was attended by Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Health) Sachin Shinde, Deputy Commissioner, South Andaman Purva Garg, Director of Health Services H.M. Siddharaju, Director of ANIIMS Mukesh Tripathi, Medical Superintendent of G.B. Pant Hospital M.K. Shah, senior health officials, representatives of the Indian Medical Association, private medical practitioners and healthcare professionals from government and private institutions.
Welcoming participants, H.M. Siddharaju described the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission as a major healthcare reform aimed at making medical services more accessible, transparent, efficient and patient-centric through a secure and interoperable digital health ecosystem. He said the cooperation of both public and private healthcare providers would be essential in establishing South Andaman as a model district.
Addressing the workshop, Sachin Shinde said the mission is designed to build the digital backbone of India’s healthcare infrastructure by integrating hospitals, laboratories and healthcare providers on a common platform. He said digitised health records would support evidence-based treatment, improve healthcare delivery and strengthen continuity of patient care.
Shinde also appealed to private medical practitioners to integrate their healthcare software with the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) system, stating that private healthcare institutions play an important role in the country’s healthcare network.
He further said comprehensive digital health records would enable Artificial Intelligence to assist in identifying health risks, predicting illnesses and supporting doctors with scientific, data-driven insights. He described the initiative as a long-term investment in India’s healthcare infrastructure and called for collective participation in its implementation.
Expressing confidence in the initiative, Shinde said the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have the potential to become the first Union Territory in the country to achieve 100 per cent integration of health records with the ABHA digital health system. He also appreciated the efforts of Dr. P. Lal and his team in organising the workshop.
The workshop concluded with a call for coordinated efforts to expand digital health services across South Andaman and strengthen the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission in the district.
