‘Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will be affordable, secure’: RS Sharma

By rolling out the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission this week, India is aiming to take a leap forward in the way the country’s health care ecosystem is structured. In an interview to HT, RS Sharma, chief executive of the National Health Authority, elaborated on the mission, the steps needed for its effective implementation, and concerns on privacy and data security. Edited excerpts:

Since enrolling for the mission is voluntary, how will you ensure its effective implementation?

Of course, it is voluntary; and convincing people is definitely a challenge in such projects. What we, however, believe is that once you have an open intra-operable system, people do come forward because it becomes easy; it provides ease of living…