Dr Hari Prasad, President, Apollo Hospitals Group in an exclusive interaction with Prathiba Raju elucidates about National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) and how it will help create an integrated healthcare ecosystem to enable healthcare providers to deliver prompt and structured care to every patient.What are the major challenges the ambitious National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) will need to tackle initially? How will this mission revolutionize healthcare in India?The National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) is a significant step in India’s journey towards creating a healthier future. It will bring in an integrated and systematic health infrastructure that can allow medical practitioners to efficiently access real-time health records of the patients and immediately provide informed decisions to finalize a logical line of management of the ailment. The various modules under this will help create an ecosystem to enable healthcare providers to deliver prompt and structured care to every patient. Through the universal health ID, patients can share their data easily with hospitals and doctors and enable access through a mobile application. To make this mission a success, the government will have to ensure that the set universal guidelines are followed at every layer of the system. At the same time, there will have to be a proactive and detailed approach to ensure that each healthcare organization has access to the required technology and tools. All this needs to be backed by a well – structured and secure healthcare tech ecosystem.Dr K Hari Prasad“To make this mission a success, the government will have to ensure that the set universal guidelines are followed at every layer of the system. All this needs to be backed by a well – structured and secure healthcare tech ecosystem.”A major challenge could come in the form of digital literacy, especially among the rural and older population. Some sections of the population could find it difficult and confusing to navigate the app if it isn’t made extremely user-friendly. Connecting to the system could be very difficult in rural areas as compared to urban regions. In addition, the expenses for training, support, and physical infrastructure could be some key barriers. India is so culturally diverse, it will be important to have the application be available in vernacular languages, which will increase acceptance.What are the potential pitfalls of digitization of health data that must be addressed before moving ahead?One major aspect that will need to be kept in mind is that the digital systems would need to be made such that it can be easily accessed and navigated by anyone while simultaneously ensuring that the data and information of the citizens are secure. Furthermore, there could be the possibility that some patients and providers might reject the digital systems or outright reject it if there are initial technical malfunctions. Plus the training to adapt to this setup could take a lot of time, effort, and resources which certain practices may not be able to afford.How will NDHM accelerate the country’s progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC)?The policy will bring in a unified healthcare system in India which will allow citizens and healthcare professionals to access the correct and updated medical records on a single platform. A synthesized database will enable cost-effective, efficient and prompt delivery of services as well as help in framing future policies and guidelines to address the existing gaps in the system. Even those places where healthcare facilities are not easily available, a digital system will allow access to quality healthcare. It will leverage technology to provide quality healthcare at a more universal level. The NDHM will revolutionize the way the Indian healthcare industry functions and boost a lot of segments in the industry.Notably, teleconsultation and e-pharmacies getting boost under NDHM will further enable doctors to provide proper care, medication, and timely diagnosis to more patients. We have already seen the benefits of digitizing healthcare. Apollo Hospitals initiated the telemedicine journey in India in 1998 with its first V-SAT enabled rural hospital at Aragonda in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh. Today, the Apollo Telehealth division manages over 10,000 tele-consults a day and runs the world’s largest Tele Emergency along with many PPP projects.Moreover, earlier in June this year, over 100 leading private hospitals, health-tech startups, technology companies, and investors came together to launch a free telemedicine consultation app ‘Swasth’ to combat the pandemic’s spread in India, with Apollo Hospitals being one of the partners. In the long-term Swasth will evolve into the Bharat Health Stack, an open-source and interoperable technology framework for healthcare built by iSPIRT, a software product industry body.With the outbreak of the pandemic, the gaps in India’s healthcare system have been highlighted further and this mission aims to fill those gaps. The NDHM’s success will bring much better access to health and healthcare to every citizen.PMJAY had cybersecurity issues and it had to be tackled by the National Anti-Fraud Unit (NAFU) team regularly. With such a big scheme again with sensitive data, what are the measures that should be taken for data sharing? How will the data from Health Facility Registry (HFRs) and PM-JAY be used?The biggest concern among most people is the leaking of information, hackers, and the loss of data. The policy includes consent-based provisions for the security and privacy of data. Each citizen will own their data and accessing this information would require consent from the individual. Even the government won’t be able to access the data without the person’s permission. The citizens will also be allowed to revoke their consent to restrict any sharing of personal data and the portal will also encrypt the entered information before it is shared. The government has assured that they will take all the necessary data privacy measures in order to effectively safeguard the confidentiality of sensitive health-related information of individuals. Data collected across the National Digital Health Ecosystem (NDHE) will be stored at the central level, the state or Union Territory level, and at the health facility level. A framework will be developed throughout the NDHE in order to safeguard the privacy of the collected, confidential health data.Also read: ‘NDHM needs well-defined pathway to on-board private sector into the program’As per a government report – India has over 350 internet service providers but broadband penetration is around six percent? With low internet penetration and a digital health resources divide – How can such a massive mission be executed?The digital aspects and concerns around the reach have been taken into account by the government when building this scheme. Under the NDHM, the government is building specialized systems and offline modules that are being designed to better reach the unconnected, digitally illiterate sections, especially the remote, hilly, and tribal regions. The project will be executed with the help of all the stakeholders including the government, medical practitioners, and citizens. There will also have to be a digital literacy program or initiative to ensure that roadblocks at the initial levels are eliminated and more people can access the benefits that the mission provides.With a lack of standard, health information exchange seems to be difficult? With NDHM execution do you think interoperability of health information and standardization of nomenclature across the Health Delivery system between patients, payers, and providers will be streamlined?A synthesized database will enable cost-effective, efficient, and prompt delivery of services as well as help in framing future policies and guidelines to address the existing gaps in the system. Even places where healthcare facilities are not easily available, a digital system will allow access to quality healthcare across every region in India. The NDHM’s main aim is to connect healthcare providers with patients across every region in a manner that is quick, information-driven, and systematic. Over time exchange of information and delivery of care will become more standardized and streamlined under this.A 2018 report by the ministry of electronics and information technology, titled Adoption of EHR: A Roadmap for India – pointed out that there is a lack of basic needs to implement the EHR system. Do you think with limited information and communications technology infrastructure with only public hospitals having computers and connectivity — The NDHM can be implemented?In India, only a certain number of major public hospitals have computers and connectivity. With a large number of public healthcare facilities in India, major investments in hardware and software will be a concern for implementing NDHM. This is one challenge that will need a lot of planning to navigate through and will be one of the main technological roadblocks in the initial stages. The cost factor among smaller players is also something that could prevent a lot of healthcare providers to stay away from being a part of this. It will be a challenge that will need a lot of planning to bring the systems and technology to every player in a cost-effective and simple manner.How important is an investment in hardware and software? How will it be done?Investment in hardware and software is essential to ensure that the NDHM is implemented at every level in India. Given the level of diversity and disparity in the country, navigating through this is tricky as electronic health records are essential to NDHM. Such investments are costly and that is also a barrier in terms of implementing and bringing in new software.What will be the role of private stakeholders and how do you see to integrate with the core system of NDHM?The NDHM will see a significant contribution from private stakeholders to contribute towards public healthcare. Private stakeholders will integrate with the various modules of the NDHM in order to better service the patients and deliver the necessary treatment across all parts of the country.Why do you think creating electronic health records similar to UID (Aadhaar) is necessary?As a part of the mission, the citizens will get a separate health ID which will allow the patients to store their health records as well as share these records with healthcare professionals and be an all-access card for all their health requirements. Being separate from Aadhaar, the information can only be accessed through the health ID and this won’t be linked to other systems and only be used for the NDHM portal. Additionally, unlike Aadhaar, this health ID is not mandatory and patients can voluntarily opt-out of sharing information any time they want. The ID will also store your records of admissions for treatment and discharge on the cloud. In the future, there are also plans to use the health ID for accessing teleconsultation and e-pharmacy facilities. Even insurance companies can get the details of the client’s healthcare records through the individual’s health ID. A separate ID will make it easier to access these facilities and benefits and will entail a voluntary opt-in system with an opting-out option as well. The government has made provisions in the initial model through which participants can request the deletion of their data.Can you draw global examples similar to NDHM which have been successful or failed? What measures should the central and state government take to make this project a success?There are a lot of countries that have successfully created various digital healthcare models and India can take some inspiration from a few of these to create a robust ecosystem. These include countries like Denmark, Israel, and Australia among others. Denmark has a concise national digital health strategy and is working towards building a digital system with enhanced safety for patient data and a framework for coordination across platforms. The model also outlines the importance of patients taking an active role in their care and enables them to understand their health better, thereby encouraging proactive participation in their treatment.The digital healthcare in Israel aims to boost telemedicine, facilitate collaboration between various healthcare institutions, and improve emergency rooms. The country also aims to unify the existing database of the digital medical records of the last 20 years which holds the medical files of over 98 percent of the country’s population. Australia’s digital system outlines a framework to improve patient pathways and overall experience and build a more efficient, digitally savvy system to provide extensive access to care while ensuring full data security. India can take inspiration from such examples to build a strong framework that includes strategies for the coming few years as well in order to build a system that will successfully sustain in the long term.

In the current times of COVID-19 pandemic, fear and anxiety have caused an increase in number of people who indulge in self-diagnosis and resort to self-medication on the basis of information available online including home remedies without proven safety and efficacy. Currently, to be very precise no medication is proven to be a cure of COVID-19, with most of the medications available being just of experimental therapies. The medications being promoted aggressively don’t have any scientific basis that they help in treating the infection. Antibiotics that are sometimes being used by people aren’t much effective against this viral infection. It is difficult to overlook the implications of inappropriate and unneeded Self-medication, which can result in polypharmacy, erroneous diagnosis, unpleasant effects, drug interactions, antibiotic resistance, and higher drug costs. Hence it becomes important that even the slightest of symptoms should be reported to the medical authorities for the patient’s benefit, instead of indulging in self-medication. To overcome the difficulties increased public understanding and education on reasonable use of medications is required.

स्तन कैंसर के लिए कीमोथैरेपी और हॉर्मोन थैरेपी में अंतर जानें! इस वीडियो में, आप उपचार के प्रत्येक विकल्प के जोखिमों और लाभों के बारे में जानेंगे। इस बारे में जानकारी प्राप्त करें कि किस प्रकार की चिकित्सा आपके लिए सही है और अपने स्वास्थ्य के बारे में शिक्षित निर्णय लें। इन दो उपचार विकल्पों के बारे में अधिक समझने के लिए अभी देखें ताकि आप आत्मविश्वास से चुन सकें कि आपके लिए सबसे अच्छा क्या है!ब्रेस्ट कैंसर के बारे में ऐसी पांच बातें जो शायद महिलाएं नहीं जानतीं :-पुरुषों में भी ब्रेस्ट कैंसर हो सकता है। जबकि यह महिलाओं में अधिक आम है, स्तन कैंसर पुरुषों में भी हो सकता है। वास्तव में, यह अनुमान लगाया गया है कि संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका में हर साल लगभग 2,000 पुरुषों को स्तन कैंसर का निदान किया जाता है। पुरुषों को भी स्तन कैंसर के अपने जोखिम के बारे में पता होना चाहिए और स्व-परीक्षा का अभ्यास करना चाहिए और यदि वे अपने स्तन के ऊतकों में कोई बदलाव देखते हैं तो चिकित्सा की तलाश करें।स्तन कैंसर के कोई लक्षण नहीं हो सकते। यह ध्यान रखना महत्वपूर्ण है कि स्तन कैंसर हमेशा ध्यान देने योग्य लक्षणों के साथ उपस्थित नहीं हो सकता है। यही कारण है कि सभी महिलाओं के लिए नियमित स्व-परीक्षा का अभ्यास करना और उनके स्वास्थ्य सेवा प्रदाता द्वारा अनुशंसित मैमोग्राम कराना बहुत महत्वपूर्ण है। ये स्क्रीनिंग स्तन कैंसर को जल्दी पकड़ने में मदद कर सकती हैं, जब यह सबसे अधिक उपचार योग्य होता है।स्तन कैंसर के विभिन्न प्रकार होते हैं। जबकि स्तन कैंसर को अक्सर एक ही बीमारी के रूप में माना जाता है, वास्तव में स्तन कैंसर के कई अलग-अलग प्रकार होते हैं। सबसे आम प्रकार डक्टल कार्सिनोमा हैं, जो दूध नलिकाओं में शुरू होता है, और लोबुलर कार्सिनोमा, जो दूध उत्पादक ग्रंथियों में शुरू होता है। आपके पास स्तन कैंसर के प्रकार को जानना महत्वपूर्ण है, क्योंकि यह आपके उपचार विकल्पों को प्रभावित कर सकता है।स्तन कैंसर के जोखिम कारक अलग-अलग हो सकते हैं। जबकि स्तन कैंसर के कुछ जोखिम कारक हैं जो प्रसिद्ध हैं, जैसे कि बीमारी का पारिवारिक इतिहास या स्तन कैंसर का व्यक्तिगत इतिहास, ऐसे अन्य कारक भी हैं जो एक महिला के जोखिम को बढ़ा सकते हैं। इनमें शराब का सेवन, अधिक वजन या मोटापा होना और पर्याप्त व्यायाम न करना जैसी चीजें शामिल हो सकती हैं। स्तन कैंसर के अपने जोखिम के बारे में जागरूक होना और जहां संभव हो अपने जोखिम को कम करने के लिए कदम उठाना महत्वपूर्ण है। स्तन कैंसर का इलाज काफी लंबा सफर तय कर चुका है। जबकि स्तन कैंसर एक गंभीर और संभावित जीवन-धमकाने वाली बीमारी हो सकती है, हाल के वर्षों में उपचार में महत्वपूर्ण प्रगति हुई है। आज, शल्य चिकित्सा, कीमोथेरेपी, विकिरण, और लक्षित उपचारों सहित कई अलग-अलग उपचार विकल्प उपलब्ध हैं। आपके लिए सर्वोत्तम उपचार योजना निर्धारित करने के लिए अपनी स्वास्थ्य सेवा टीम के साथ काम करना महत्वपूर्ण है।अंत में, स्तन कैंसर एक गंभीर और आम बीमारी है जो लिंग की परवाह किए बिना किसी को भी प्रभावित कर सकती है। अपने जोखिम के बारे में जागरूक होना और स्व-परीक्षा का अभ्यास करना और अपने स्वास्थ्य सेवा प्रदाता द्वारा अनुशंसित मैमोग्राम प्राप्त करना महत्वपूर्ण है। आज उपचार के कई अलग-अलग विकल्प भी उपलब्ध हैं, इसलिए यदि आपको स्तन कैंसर का पता चला है, तो आशा न खोएं – आपके लिए सहायता और सहायता उपलब्ध है।

5 Important things to combat H3N2 Influenza Virus | Dr. Vinny Wango | Apollo HospitalIn our latest video Dr. Viny Kantroo, Sr. Consultant – Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, is sharing the 5 Important things to combat H3N2 Influenza Virus. Watch now and stay informed.

Apollo Hospitals has inaugurated the Apollo Centre of Excellence for Sports Injuries & Orthopaedics at its newly opened Financial District facility in Hyderabad, ushering in a new era of specialised sports medicine, injury prevention, and athlete rehabilitation. The state-of-the-art centre was inaugurated in the presence of Mr. Anil Kamineni, Founder of KEI Group, Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary, Sports Department, Government of Telangana, and members of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad.  Developed to address the growing demand for advanced sports injury care, the centre integrates orthopaedic specialists, sports medicine experts, physiotherapists, and rehabilitation professionals within a collaborative, multidisciplinary framework. Mr. Harkaran Singh, Chief Operating Officer of Apollo Hospitals, noted that the institute is designed to deliver faster recovery, improved clinical outcomes, and seamless patient care through coordinated expertise and advanced rehabilitation systems. The facility offers athlete risk assessment using VALD technology, AI-driven performance analysis, and personalised rehabilitation programs tailored to individual recovery and return-to-sport goals. It also provides comprehensive treatment for shoulder, elbow, hand, knee, hip, foot, and ankle injuries, with a strong emphasis on preventive care and performance optimization. Speaking at the launch, Mr. Pat Cummins (Captain, Sunrisers Hyderabad) highlighted the importance of scientific rehabilitation and proactive injury management in extending athletic careers and supporting peak performance. Athlete Mr. Praful Hinge also shared his recovery journey, emphasising the resilience and discipline required to return stronger after injury. With its focus on evidence-based care and innovation-led rehabilitation, the centre reinforces Apollo Hospitals’ commitment to advancing world-class sports medicine and helping athletes recover with confidence. 

 ~ New initiative focused on advancing robotic surgery, digital surgery and remote surgical collaboration ~Chennai, 13 March 2026: Apollo Hospitals Chennai has launched the Apollo Institute of Robotics & Telesurgery (ART), a new initiative aimed at advancing robotic surgery, digital surgery and remote surgical collaboration. The announcement was made during the 6th Apollo International Colorectal Symposium (AICRS) 2026, which brought together leading surgeons, scientists and technology pioneers from across the world to discuss the future of colorectal cancer surgery and technology-enabled care. The symposium highlighted the rapid evolution of technology-driven colorectal care, with discussions focused on robotic surgery, digital surgical platforms and emerging telesurgical innovations that are transforming surgical access and outcomes globally. A major highlight presented during the symposium was the Apollo Rectal Cancer (ARC) Programme at the Apollo Proton Cancer Centre, Chennai a comprehensive multidisciplinary initiative designed for the management of complex rectal cancers. The programme integrates colorectal surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, specialist nurses, nutritionists and rehabilitation experts to deliver coordinated, patient-centred cancer care.  Another milestone highlighted was the growing adoption of robotic colorectal surgery at Apollo Hospitals. Dr. Venkatesh Munikrishnan and his team have completed over 1,000 robotic colorectal procedures, including one of the largest personal series of robotic rectal cancer resections in the region. This experience has helped position Apollo Hospitals Chennai as a subspecialist centre for rectal cancer treatment and an important training hub for advanced robotic colorectal surgery, attracting surgeons and fellows from across India and internationally. Speaking about the initiative, Prof Dr Venkatesh Munikrishnan, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon & Clinical Lead Institute of Colorectal Surgery and Chairperson AICRS 2026 said, “Rectal cancer treatment today requires a highly coordinated multidisciplinary approach. The Apollo Rectal Cancer Programme was developed to ensure patients benefit from the combined expertise of surgeons, oncologists and allied specialists working together to deliver personalised, evidence-based care. The integration of technologies such as robotic surgery has significantly enhanced surgical precision, particularly in complex pelvic procedures, improving outcomes while preserving quality of life.” Dr. Sudhir Srivastava, Founder Chairman and CEO, SS Innovations, said, “Robotic surgery has already transformed how complex operations are performed by enabling greater precision, control and visualisation for surgeons. The next natural progression is telesurgery, which will redefine how surgical expertise is delivered across geographies. Technologies such as the Mantrasana telesurgery platform are designed to bridge the gap between centres of excellence and hospitals that may not have access to subspecialist expertise, ensuring that patients, regardless of location, can benefit from the highest standards of surgical care.”Looking ahead to the next phase of surgical innovation, Apollo Hospitals announced the launch of the Apollo Institute of Robotics and Telesurgery (ART), a new initiative aimed at advancing robotic surgery, digital surgery and remote surgical collaboration. Present at the launch were Dr. Ilankumaran Kaliamoorthy, Chief Executive Officer - Chennai Region, Apollo Hospitals and Mr. Karan Puri, Chief Executive Officer - Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Teynampet & Apollo Proton Cancer Centre. Co-chaired by Prof Dr Steven D Wexner, System Chief, Colorectal Surgery, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington DC, USA and Prof. Manish Chand, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon & Associate Professor, University College London, UK and hosted by the Institute of Colorectal Surgery at Apollo Hospitals Chennai, AICRS 2026 reflects a decade-long effort to advance subspecialisation in colorectal surgery, transforming what was once a general surgical field into a highly specialised discipline driven by precision, technology and multidisciplinary cancer care.Click here to know more.