My vision to enhance the effectiveness of Aarogya Setu App for the betterment of the Citizens and Government of India. (My communication Registration Number is: PMOPG/E/2020/0394236)

Aarogya Setu in Sanskrit means “Health Bridge,” is a mobile app developed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT as the primary contact tracing tool in India. The app evaluates the chances of the citizens in identifying their risk of contracting COVID-19 (Coronavirus) infection based on location, travel, and medical history has notched up more than 100 million downloads since its launch. The app is mandatory for Public, Private offices workers.

Key Highlights of the App:

  • Aarogya Setu is a contact-tracing app that collects both Bluetooth and GPS data to track suspected Coronavirus Patients which is a centralized approach.
  • When two smartphones with Aarogya Setu installed come in each other’s Bluetooth range, the app will collect information. If one of the two persons have tested positive, the app will alert the other person and in the process, enable the Government to trace potential cases.
  • Instructions accompany the alerts to help self-isolation and to provide support if you develop symptoms.
  • Aarogya Setu app started as a voluntary app, but the Government has made it mandatory in many locations.
  • The Government has mandated the organizations to achieve 100 per cent compliance on the use of the Aarogya Setu app by their employees.
  • Many organizations are planning to include the app in their daily operations to identify potential cases. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is planning to add the app in their standard operating procedure (SOP).
  • The Government is rolling out an E-pass feature to the app, which categorizes the user under green, orange, and red status. The issuance of E-pass will act as the primary identification to let people access to important public infrastructure like metro services, etc.

Many Governments across the world are using Contact-tracing apps, and their approaches are different. Most Governments, including Singapore, are using only Bluetooth functionality to do the contact tracing, unlike India, which is using both Bluetooth and GPS. Besides, there is also a difference in the way the data is collected and processed.

While this is a great initiative; I envisage the app could also act as the “National Health Registry,” (NHS) which could become an integral and centralized registry and healthcare database of the citizens of India. This will be of immense value for the Healthcare Ecosystem, Citizens, and Government at large, for regulating and addressing the health issues suffered by every individual and ensure their well-being by the Ministry of Healthcare (MoH) in India. The Aarogya Setu App should Mandate the Citizens to Share the following information:

  1. Individual or Personal Infomation:  In this section, personal details regarding the individual’s Aadhar, Pancard, Bank Account and Family history-related information are collected. Aadhar and Family history will be interconnected, which will map and link the medical history of the individual and their family.
  2. All Insurance Details: The individual should self-declare their policy-related information such as – Life, Medical, Travel, etc. which could be linked directly to the individual. Besides, the MoH should mandate the Insurance companies to list their policy details as well in the NHS.
  3. Hospital, General Physician (GP) or Specialists and Speciality Clinics, Hospice Center related Information both Public and Private: The individuals should share all the details relating to the hospitals and all other doctors and specialists they consult. When the individuals declare the hospital details – all the medical records/reports and any other information related to the patient’s medical condition should be fed into the NHS by the Hospitals, GPs or Specialists. All the Hospitals, GPs, Specialists clinics, Speciality centres, Hospice centres, etc. should be mandated to formally register themselves and provide all the details in the NHS. This will then automatically track regular or periodical check-ups by the patients to consult the doctor. It would become a centralized medical registry and remote patient monitoring system which will enable the patient’s medical history to be accessed by any other doctor across India. If the patient were to be referred to another specialist for a consultation or especially in case of emergency the hospital or doctor in charge will be able to perform the accurate assessment and correct diagnosis based on the patient’s medical history or condition and the medication he/she has been taking.
  4. Doctor Information: Personal details about the different doctors whom the individual is consulting should be disclosed. Emergency contact details of the doctors should be provisioned.
  5. Medication: The copy of the patient’s prescription should be uploaded on the NHS which would be accessible by the authorized medical stores or drug houses from where the patient will buy the medicines either directly or online regularly within their location. This will help eradicate and eliminate the sale of duplicate or fake drugs from the market. The patients needn’t have to visit the medical store in person, and the payment will be charged automatically to the patient’s bank account.
  6. Medical/Pathology Laboratories or Diagnostic Centers: Whichever diagnostic labs the patients do their tests from, either private labs or within the hospitals, the laboratories will be authorized to be linked themselves in the NHS where they will update the patient’s tests results on to the NHS for the respective doctors or the patients to view the same.
  7. Blood/Sperm/Stem Cell Banks: Blood banks play a vital role in the healthcare ecosystem. There have been times when the patients do not find their blood group available at the specific blood banks. Therefore, it becomes beneficial for the patients when they can quickly locate the blood bank who is carrying the specified group of blood at the click of your finger. This is possible when the MoH mandates all the banks to register themselves on the NHS and shares the details of various groups of blood and the stock that they carry. Similar goes for other types of banks as well.
  8. Ambulatory Services: These include ambulance drivers, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), Paramedics, and Attendants. For instance, in case of emergency, the ambulance service could be easily availed just with a click of a button, and anyone from the nearby hospital can accept the request and reach the accident or emergency spot in a short time and thus help in saving a life. Similar goes for other services too. In case of shortage of EMTs or Paramedics, the app will be able to show the availability of the ambulatory services that are available within the nearby locations.
  9. Mortuary, Funeral Homes and Crematorium Services: Deaths or loss of the near and dear ones are always extremely emotional and challenging for anyone to go through the pain. At such times it becomes effortless to manage and avail the various services effectively if it is all listed in a single place in the NHS and one has to request for the specific services which they would like to avail. For instance, to fix an appointment at the crematory one need not make endless calls. Instead, check the available slots and fix the appointment with all the details of the individual who is dead uploaded in the NHS. This process eliminates the red tape which an individual will have to go through otherwise.
  10. Medical Tourism: Medical Tourism is a growing sector under Healthcare, especially in India due to its reduced costs, availability of the latest medical technologies, and increasing compliance on international quality and standards. Highly trained doctors from western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as English-speaking personnel. The National Health Registry will enable the Ministry of Healthcare to track the number of International patients visiting India for availing various treatments and ensure patients’ health and well-being.

The Ministry of Healthcare should issue a “National Health Registry Card” with a unique identification number upon every individual registering in the ‘National Health Registry’ or the ‘Arogya Setu’ App which should be mandated at a national level for the benefit of every citizen of our great nation. – INDIA. Besides, the healthcare ecosystem, as mentioned above and various other functions, should be mandated to register themselves in the National Health Registry by the MoH.

This is the right time to undertake such an initiative which will benefit the Government of India significantly. The National Health Registry initiative can be jointly executed through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, which will create more job and investment opportunities. Opening doors for innovations within the healthcare vertical a real game-changer for India. The citizens of India will be pleased to support the Government as it will benefit both immensely. I am absolutely sure that today, everyone will come forward to make our nation great and help each other to come out of the COVID-19 crisis and also it will enable us to be well-prepared to handle any such unforeseen situations like the novel coronavirus pandemic effectively with all the preventive measures in place in the future.

With a population of 1.35 billion, India has 14 million doctors, yet to achieve the goal of ‘Access to Healthcare’ by all at an affordable cost remains a goal to date. The NHS initiative will significantly help the MoH for implementing the standardisation, storage, and a centralized ‘Electronic Health Records’ (EHR) repository of patients which is the ultimate goal of the authority and will ensure the health history and status of all patients will always be available to all health institutions. The Government can also achieve the goal of ‘Digital India’ which will be made possible through the implementation of ‘National Health Registry.’

To summarise, the National Health Registry (NHS) will enable and help the Government in the regulation and standardization of Healthcare policies that will benefit every function within the Healthcare Ecosystem and achieve the goal of “Acces to Healthcare by all.” India will be seen as an emerging superpower and will lead by example at the Global Economy. This initiative will win the Government the good faith and support of their public forever. I will be extremely delighted to be an integral part of this initiative and support the PMO and the Government of India in making – Mera Bharat Mahan. Jai Hind.