NEW HEALTHCARE AND BUSINESS INITIATIVES

Source: pib

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Context

• Union Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare launched three significant initiatives to enhance healthcare services and streamline business processes for food vendors.

Details

Key Initiatives Launched

Virtual NQAS Assessment for Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAM):

• Objective: To ensure quality healthcare services at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, which are primary healthcare centers under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
• Details:
  • Virtual National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) assessments will be conducted online, involving virtual tours and interactions with patients, staff, and community members.
  • The goal is full compliance with NQAS by 2026.
  • The virtual assessments aim to streamline the certification process, ensuring high standards of healthcare at over 170,000 operational AAMs nationwide.
  • Health facilities achieving NQAS certification will undergo rigorous multi-level assessments by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) empanelled assessors.

IPHS Compliance Dashboard

• Integrated Public Health Laboratories (IPHL): Established under the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) to ensure quality diagnostic services in public health facilities.
  • Objective: To monitor compliance with Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) in real-time across various public health facilities.
  • Details:
    • The dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of the assessment and compliance status of public health facilities, including District Hospitals, Sub-District Hospitals, Community Health Centers, Primary Health Centers, and Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
    • Utilizes the Open Data Kit (ODK) tool for real-time data collection and analysis.
    • Aims to ensure facilities meet required standards of infrastructure, equipment, and human resources.
    • As of mid-June 2024, over 36,730 of 216,062 public health institutions have been assessed, with 8,562 fully compliant with IPHS standards.
    • The goal is to make 70,000 health institutions compliant within the first 100 days of the new government's formation.

Spot Food Licence and Registration Initiative for Food Vendors

• Objective: To enhance the ease of doing business for food vendors by simplifying the licensing and registration process.
• Details:
  • Utilizes the Food Safety and Compliance System (FoSCoS), a pan-India IT platform designed to address all food safety regulatory needs.
  • Introduces instant issuance of licenses and registrations for low-risk food businesses through digital verification.
  • Applicable to categories such as wholesalers, distributors, retailers, transporters, storage without atmospheric control, cold storage, importers, food vending agencies, direct sellers, and merchant-exporters.
  • Petty food businesses, including petty retailers of snacks/tea shops and hawkers, can also receive instant registration certificates.
  • Aims to reduce the licensing process from the current 30-60 days to instant issuance for select categories.

Sources:

pib

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Digital initiatives have the potential to transform healthcare delivery in India. Discuss the various digital initiatives taken by the government to improve healthcare services and their impact. Highlight the challenges faced in the implementation of these initiatives and suggest measures to overcome them. (15 marks)