The health ministry has sought the Unique Identification Number Authority of India project head Nandan Nilekani?s assistance in creating a database of children from humble background who could be allotted electronic health cards. The cards would be handed over to parents and guardians of the children who would form part of the database. This would enable them access to free medical treatment in all the state-owned hospitals including primary healthcare centres. The decision was formalised on Wednesday at a meeting between Nilekani and minister of state for health and family welfare Dinesh Trivedi.
?The health ministry has decided to assign the job of creating a database for children born under the open sky to Nandan Nilekani. He would have to share the database with the health ministry. The ministry can, in turn, refer and issue electronic health cards to these children of humble background,? Trivedi said at Assocham Knowledge Millenium Summit.
The health ministry would work towards increasing the ratio of health expenditure to national GDP, in consultation with the finance ministry, for the electronic cards. These cards once issued would entitle targeted children to avail free medical treatment in all state-owned hospitals.
Also, the health ministry has asked the UIDAI project head to work out modalities for setting up a national health portal that would house all medical facilities available in state-owned hospitals. This would serve as a one-point platform for the population and offer people all possible options to access medical information related to hospitals, doctors and specialty among others.
Besides disseminating health-related information among the masses, the National Health Portal would also help registering births by applying online. ?Standing in the queue for registering a birth certificate would soon be over as the National Health Portal would help one file the application and get the certificate online,? he said.