Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has virtually launched the Integrated Health Information platform on Monday.
This Platform is an amalgamation of brave, pertinent, and futuristic healthcare and technology. By expressing his enthusiasm Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated “This day shall be written in Golden Letters as a day that marks a milestone in the history of disease surveillance. We have started a new chapter in India’s public health trajectory. India is the first country in the world to adopt such an advanced disease surveillance system.”
He pointed out that the new version of IHIP will house the data entry and management for India’s disease surveillance program.
“In addition to tracking 33 diseases now as compared to the earlier 18 diseases, it shall ensure near-real-time data in digital mode, having done away with the paper-mode of working,” the health minister said.
Terming this as the world’s biggest online disease surveillance platform, he stated that it is in sync with the National Digital Health Mission and fully compatible with the other digital information systems presently being used in India.
Vardhan explained that the refined IHIP with automated data will be helpful in real-time data collection, aggregation & further analysis of data that will aid and enable evidence-based policymaking.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated that such an advanced digital platform for scouting the earliest signs of disease spread in the smallest of villages and blocks in the country will immensely help in nipping in the bud any potential outbreak or epidemic. He applauded the hard work and commitment of all the grassroots and frontline healthcare workers who have toiled the whole of last year during the pandemic.
The health minister said that IHIP will provide a health information system developed for real-time, case-based information, integrated analytics, advanced visualization capability.
“It will provide analyzed reports on mobile or other electronic devices. In addition, outbreak investigation activities can be initiated and monitored electronically. It can easily be integrated with other ongoing surveillance programs, while having the feature of addition of special surveillance modules,”
Terming this as a ‘historic day’ not only for India for global public health, Dr Roderico Ofrin, WHO Representative to India stated that this refined digital surveillance platform will help to provide and connect data and move towards ‘One Health’ approach.
He mentioned that the portal is a great resource for timely health response measures to be mounted; not only programming but also disease prioritization. He applauded India for this timely development.
