The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has recently launched the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP). This platform version is a significant refinement of the current Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). As an advanced disease surveillance system, it is designed to track more diseases in near-real-time digital mode, provide integrated analytics and advanced visualization capabilities.
The Features of IHIP
The key points about IHIP include its ability to track 33 diseases as compared to the previous 18 diseases. The use of this platform will also allow for near-real-time data access in digital mode via gadgets used by grassroots healthcare workers, PHC, CHC, DH Doctors when citizens seek healthcare, and diagnostic labs which provide data on carried out tests.
Not only that, the IHIP features real-time data reporting accessible at all levels, from villages to states, and the central level. It is equipped with advanced data modeling and analytical tools, and provides a Geographic Information System (GIS) enabled graphical representation of data into an integrated dashboard. Other features include role and hierarchy-based feedback, alert mechanisms, geo-tagging of reporting health facilities, and data integration with other health programs.
Significance of IHIP
This new digital platform’s significance lies in its potential ease in collecting authentic data directly from village or block level. This early disease spread detection feature can drastically help prevent potential outbreaks or epidemics. Notably, IHIP aligns with the National Digital Health Mission’s goal to develop the necessary backbone for the country’s integrated digital health infrastructure.
India’s information system for precision public health is crucial for delivering ‘the right intervention at the right time, every time to the right population.’ The rise in technology use in recent years in enhancing precision in public health, through pathogen genomics, enhanced surveillance and informatics, and targeted interventions, has shown steady growth. With the implementation of IHIP, India is on the path towards self-reliant healthcare made possible by technology.
The ‘One Health’ Approach & The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP)
The ‘One Health’ approach aims to design and implement programmes, policies, legislation, and research in which multiple sectors communicate and work together to achieve better public health outcomes. The IHIP aligns with this approach, offering a refined digital surveillance platform that connects data towards a more integrated form of healthcare.
The Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) was launched in 2004 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with the World Bank’s assistance. It continued as the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) during the 12th Plan (2012–17) under the National Health Mission. This program aimed to enhance and maintain decentralized laboratory-based and IT-enabled disease surveillance systems for epidemic-prone diseases, allowing for early detection and response to outbreaks.
Programme Components
The IDSP programme components encompassed integrating and decentralizing surveillance activities through surveillance units’ establishment at the Centre, State, and District level. It involved human resource development – training state surveillance officers, district surveillance officers, RRT, and other medical and paramedical staff on disease surveillance principles. Other components included the use of Information Communication Technology for data collection, collation, compilation, analysis, and dissemination, strengthening public health laboratories, and intersectoral coordination for zoonotic diseases.