India cuts digital health budget for 2024, more briefings
ABDM, Tele-mental health care budgets cut
Earlier this week, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the official budget for 2024-25.
For healthcare, the government has set aside Rs 90,958.63 crore (USD 10.8 billion), an increase of almost 13% from Rs 80,517.62 crore (USD 9.6 billion) last year.
This includes Rs 200 crore ($24 million) for the Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission, down from last year’s Rs 341 crore ($40.7 million) allocation. The government programme is building the foundations of a digitally connected health ecosystem by creating electronic health records.
Meanwhile, allocation to another digital health initiative, the National Tele-Mental Health Programme, also fell to Rs 90 crore ($10.7 million) from Rs 133.7 crore ($16 million) a year ago.
NUCOHS says image data and AI integration underway
The National University Centre for Oral Health Singapore (NUCOHS) has unveiled its long-term plan to use digital technology to improve dental care.
The center, which is under the auspices of the National University Health System, said it is building a dental imaging repository that will support the development of new treatment plans and data-driven research. It plans to integrate the database with computer-aided design and manufacturing to improve the creation of dental restorations, such as dental prostheses, dentures and crowns.
NUCOHS also said it is working on integrating AI models with its EHR system to improve early detection and prediction of dental conditions such as tooth decay and gum disease.
“AI will play an increasingly important role in our practice, and by integrating AI and innovative research, we will ensure that patients receive the most accurate, efficient and appropriate care. In addition, we hope to use our extensive data to study the associations and impact of a patient’s systemic condition and the medications they are taking on the progression of dental diseases and the prognosis of treatment,” explained Patrick Tseng, associate professor at NUCOHS.
PhilHealth unveils digital platform to streamline access to services
Philippine health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has started migrating its old systems to new, secure systems.
It recently launched the ePhilHealth platform that streamlines access to the insurer’s various services, including its outpatient benefits program, eKonsulta. Through PhilHealth’s integration with the eGovernment Data Exchange Platform, its members can also access their profiles, contributions and claims history on the eGovPH super app.
PhilHealth has also integrated its system with the Philippine National ID system.
The move to a more secure digital infrastructure came nearly a year after the state health insurer was hit by a Medusa ransomware attack, exposing the data of some 13 million members.