ABDM, tele-mental health budgets reduced

Early this week, India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the official Union Budget for 2024-2025. 

For healthcare, the government set aside Rs 90,958.63 crore ($10.8 billion), rising by nearly 13% from last year's Rs 80,517.62 crore ($9.6 billion).

This includes Rs 200 crore ($24 million) for the Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission, which is lower than the Rs 341 crore ($40.7 million) allocation last year. The government scheme is building the foundations of a digitally connected health ecosystem through the creation of electronic health records. 

Meanwhile, another digital health initiative, the national tele-mental health programme, also saw its allocation decrease to Rs 90 crore ($10.7 million) from Rs 133.7 crore ($16 million) a year ago. 

NUCOHS says imaging data, AI integration underway 

The National University Centre for Oral Health Singapore (NUCOHS) has revealed its long-term plan to leverage digital technology in advancing dental care. 

The centre, which is under the purview of the National University Health System, said it is building a dental imaging repository that will support the development of new treatment plans and data-driven research. It plans to integrate the database with computer-aided design and manufacturing to enhance the creation of dental restorations, such as dental prostheses, dentures and crowns.

The NUCOHS also shared that it is working to integrate AI models with its EMR system to improve the early detection and prediction of dental conditions like tooth decay and gum disease. 

"AI will play an increasingly important role in our practice, and by integrating AI and innovative research, we ensure that patients receive the most precise, efficient and appropriate care. Additionally, we hope to use our expansive data to study links and impact of a patient’s systemic condition and the medications they are taking on dental disease progression and the prognosis of treatment," explained Patrick Tseng, associate professor at NUCOHS. 

PhilHealth unveils digital platform to streamline service access

State health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in the Philippines has started moving its legacy systems into new, secure systems. 

It recently launched the ePhilHealth platform which streamlines access to the insurer's various services, including the outpatient benefits programme, eKonsulta. Through PhilHealth's integration with the eGovernment Data Exchange Platform, its members can also access their profiles, contributions, and claims history on the eGovPH super app. 

PhilHealth has also integrated its system with the Philippine National ID system. 

The move to more secure digital infrastructure came almost a year after the state health insurer was hit by a Medusa ransomware attack, which exposed the data of some 13 million members.