Set to revolutionise healthcare under “One Nation, One Health Card”, connecting every basti, village, hospital, clinic and lab under a common shared data-backbone
With the rising second wave of COVID-19 in India and the growing need for a COVID and health passport system, ITI, a state run PSU under Ministry of Telecom and Thalamus Irwine, a Delhi based AI Firm, under its healthcare platform Garuda, have reportedly demonstrated a working proof of concept of technology that can accelerate the roll-out of “One Nation, One Health Card” vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
The demonstration was performed at Vidya Ankur Basti Vikas Kendra, Badarpur, New Delhi, on March 25. Speaking at the demo, Rishabh Sharma, Founder, Thalamus Irwine, Garuda Blockchain Platform, said, “Today we demonstrated an end-to-end digital health ecosystem as envisioned by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji in the National Digital Health Mission. Not only did we perform a sero-survey using an AI enabled medical device, but we compiled those analytics in real-time and then stored that data on the blockchain network.”
Rakesh Mohan Agarwal, CMD, ITI, said, “ITI’s partnership with Garuda has allowed us to bring blockchain technology to the forefront of the healthcare ecosystem. The health-card data of every Indian citizen needs to be protected with the highest possible standards.” Referring to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji’s vision of “One Nation One Health Card”, he said it will provide universal access to healthcare such that no matter which part of India a citizen goes to, they are able to get the highest level of care they deserve.
As this health-card scheme will require a complex digital backbone, Agarwal advocated blockchain technology as a promising choice due to its enhanced security features and efficiency.
As per a release, the Garuda Blockchain Backbone, developed in collaboration with ITI, establishes a proof of concept to implement Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s “One Nation One Health Card” Vision. The initiative will connect every basti, village, hospital, clinic and lab under a common shared data-backbone. This health-card data can be hosted in the most secure decentralised server system offered by blockchain technology while simultaneously generating real time analytics to study the new trends and patterns for diseases like COVID throughout India. It will also serve as a digital fortress and a unifying factor for various players in the healthcare ecosystem. Such that all of healthcare stakeholders are operating off of the same blockchain network with a shared history.
The release quoted David Moss, Founder and CEO, StrongBlock commenting that ITI and Garuda’s “achievement to store medical data on the blockchain network marks a pivotal step for India in blockchain technology’s future and its widespread adoption. This proof of concept serves as the fundamental and best step forward towards India’s plans for its National Digital Health Mission, and an opportunity for global leadership in the adoption of blockchain technology in the ecosystem.”