Karnataka, the leading implementer of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in India, announced several health initiatives and schemes during its budget release earlier this month.
While these budget allocations aim to make significant improvements in public health, they also place Karnataka at the forefront of public health initiatives in the country.
“This will push for more digitalisation of health services while improving patients’ digital experience and making hospitals paperless institutions.”
– Randeep D, State Health Commissioner.
Here’s everything the Karnataka state government has planned to improve the health of its people.
Karnataka’s digital health initiatives
This year, the Karnataka state government has focused on several health initiatives for the budget for health without any big-ticket allocations.
Health Technology Innovation Lab
Karnataka has proposed to set up a Health Technology Innovation Lab to identify, evaluate, roll out, implement and support digital health initiatives across the state’s public health system.
While the proposed lab will cost ₹8 crores, the commissioner asserted its importance in ensuring that the e-Health Department has strong support to implement new health technologies.
“The public health system in Karnataka consists of 3,000 hospitals and over 10,000 health and wellness centres. Any software or health tech device that needs to be rolled out across the public health system needs to meet a set of standards and be reliably supported. This lab will be the first point of contact for all health technology-related initiatives taken up by the government,”
The commissioner explained in a statement to The Hindu.
The Lab members will work closely with the e-Governance team to conduct need-gap assessments, resolve technical issues with IT implementations, create dashboards to monitor and evaluate public health and ensure effective implementation of the National Health Mission (NHM) schemes and state health initiatives.
Karnataka Digital Health Society
Karnataka is already the leader in the adoption of ABDM in the country. As of March 2023, the state has registered over 100,000 health facilities and 1.5 million healthcare professionals on the ABDM platform.
To further implement the ABDM scheme and other digital health initiatives, the state has proposed to set up the Karnataka Digital Health Society. It will be responsible for developing and managing the ABDM platform in the state and providing technical support to providers and patients.
Enhance diagnostic capabilities in the state
The Karnataka government has taken several initiatives to improve public diagnostic facilities in the state, like:
- Installing 2 handheld X-ray machines per district across 8 districts to detect tuberculosis (Rs 3 crore)
- Installing CT (computed tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanning facilities in all district hospitals in a public-private partnership model
- Increasing the number of dialysis centres in the state from 172 to 219 and providing single-use dialysers to all districts and taluk hospitals.
- Installing automated external defibrillators in all district and taluk hospitals to help prevent sudden cardiac arrest in young people.
Initiative to organise health camps across tier 2 and 3 cities
The government has planned several comprehensive health camps, like:
- A pilot project to organise diabetes and blood pressure camps across 8 districts and door delivery of medicines.
- An ophthalmology initiative called ‘Ashakirana’ will conduct eye camps, spectacles distribution and cataract surgeries across the state in a phased manner. In 2023-24, it will be conducted in 4 districts—Chitradurga, Raichur, Uttara Kannada and Mandya.
- A programme to screen and treat anaemia and malnutrition among children and women in rural Karnataka.
Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (Ka-BHI)
The state government has collaborated with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) to launch a brain health initiative across the state, which will enable local government health facilities to treat neurological disorders.
This was started as a pilot project in three districts of Karnataka in Jan 2022 to address the shortage of doctors and facilities to treat neurological diseases. It will now be extended to the entire state.
Establish Centre of Excellence, medical colleges, hospitals and community health centres across the state
- The state government has proposed building a Centre of Excellence for Health-Tech and Med-Tech in Karnataka. It will be aided through Bio-bank, a biomedical database and research resource, which will be set up.
- The government will establish the first government hospital dedicated to organ transplants in NIMHANS for Rs 146 crore.
- They will establish super-speciality hospitals and burns care centres in Mysuru, Kalaburagi and Belagavi districts for Rs 155 crores.
- The government will construct a new 200-bed Mother and Child Hospital in Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalaburagi.
- The government has also earmarked Rs 450 crores for the ongoing construction work of medical colleges and hospitals belonging to medical colleges in tier 2 and 3 cities of the state.
- They’ve also allocated Rs 70 crore to procure equipment and start community health centres across the state.
Parting words
The strong emphasis on healthcare in its budget will help the Karnataka government to transform public health in rural Karnataka. With a significant focus on districts, taluks and rural hinterlands, the government will enable access to quality health for all.
“Overall, it is a balanced budget with impactful initiatives that will constructively shape the future of healthcare”
– Dr Sharan Patil of the SPARSH Group of Hospitals to the Indian Express
While Karnataka is leading the way with its digital health initiatives, other states aren’t far behind. States like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have also implemented various health schemes to improve public health.
Other states can follow Karnataka’s lead and improve their healthcare infrastructure to better support public health.
