National Health Authority launches 100 Microsites Project to Speed Up Digital Health Adoption

The National Health Authority (NHA) has started the 100 Microsites Project under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in order to increase digital health adoption and thereby make healthcare more accessible to all. Within the context of ABDM, a Microsite is a collection of all small and medium-sized clinics, nursing homes, hospitals (ideally with 10 beds), labs, pharmacies, and other healthcare institutions that are ABDM-enabled and provide digital health services to patients.

These microsites would be developed across the country in various states/UTs, primarily by State Mission Directors of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, with National Health Authority providing financial resources and general supervision. The Microsites aim to create a small ecosystem within a certain geographic area where ABDM adoption is full and the entire patient journey is digitised.

The state/university may work with a development partner and an interface agency to put up and run the microsite. Within the microsite, all health facilities and healthcare professionals serving across various medical systems, particularly in the private sector, must be registered in ABDM modules such as Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) and Health Facility Registry (HFR), followed by the installation of ABDM-enabled applications.

"We aim to establish 100 such Microsites across the country where focused efforts would be made to bring as many small-medium scale healthcare entities under the ABDM fold," stated NHA's CEO. This will not only promote acceptance among private sector providers, but it will also assist ABDM in expanding its footprint among private healthcare providers across the country." It is intended that through these microsites, as many small-medium scale healthcare providers are made aware of ABDM and its benefits, registered on ABDM’s core registries, use ABDM certified digital solutions, and eventually begin to link digital health records - all contributing towards a wider adoption of ABDM in the country. Such focused adoption efforts will activate the ecosystem to embrace ABDM. On May 31, 2023, NHA released operational guidelines for the nationwide activation of Microsites.