Hindi English Translation || Editorial || A scheme before its time: On digital health mission

A scheme before its time: On digital health mission

A digital health mission needs to get all the fundamentals of the ecosystem (पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र) right

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the National Digital Health Mission (a holistic, voluntary healthcare programme that will reduce the existing gap between various stakeholders such as doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers, pharmacies, insurance companies, and citizens by bringing them together and connecting them in an integrated digital health infrastructure), the most salient (मुख्य, महत्वपूर्ण) aspect of which is that all citizens will have the option of voluntarily opting for a Health ID, a 14-digit health identification number that will uniquely identify every citizen and will be a repository (भण्डार, केंद्रीय, स्थान) of their medical history. Illustratively (उदाहरण के लिए, व्याख्यात्मक रूप से, स्पष्ट रूप से), it will contain details of every test, every disease, the doctors visited, the medicines taken and the diagnosis (निदान, पहचान, मान्यता). The portability this offers implies a person will, in theory (सिद्धांत रूप में, काल्पनिक रूप से), never have to haul around their reports. The doctor who is examining the patient can give more well-informed (जानकार) advice because it is possible that patients may not consider aspects of their medical history relevant (प्रासंगिक, लागू, उपयुक्त) to share with a doctor, or sometimes may forget about them, but which may be valuable for a better diagnosis. This id can be created by using a person’s basic details and mobile number or Aadhaar number, and there will presumably (शायद, संभवतः) be an app acting as (के रूप में कार्य, कार्य करना) a convenient interface (अंतरापृष्ठ).

As snazzy (अत्यधिक आकर्षित) as all of this sounds, a digital health id right now is really a solution looking for a problem. There is no clear justification (reason, basis, rationale) that the immobility (the state of something that is not able to be moved/transferred; motionlessness) of medical records is an insurmountable obstacle to the provision of affordable (economical, inexpensive, reasonably priced), high-quality health care in India. The challenge of health care in India, as decades (a period of ten years) of research and the experience with the novel coronavirus pandemic (the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area) have shown, can be expressed quite simply (मतलब रखना, सुझाव देना, संकेत करना). There are too few hospitals with trained staff to cater to (try to satisfy/fulfil a need of) all Indians. But expanding the health-care system will not be easy. India’s federal structure, the size of its population — and a large rural one at that — the cost of researching, finding and buying appropriate drugs and treatment, competing systems of medicine and the very challenging nature of health itself, mean that the issues are manifold (many, numerous, multiple (types)). The graver problem is that the technocratic sheen (glimmer, shininess (of something)) of a digital health id hides a mammoth (something which is huge, massive, mighty, colossal) store of personal data, which in the absence of (without, lacking) a privacy law (the body of law that deals with the regulating, storing, and using of personally identifiable information, personal healthcare information, and financial information of individuals, which can be collected by governments, public or private organisations, or other individuals) and little public awareness and control over their data, could be open to misuse. There is the danger that any large private insurance company could use sophisticated (highly developed) algorithms (the list of instructions and rules that a computer needs to do to complete a task) across the health and other databases to construct risk-profiles (a series of questions and basic medical tests, which can help determine a person’s risk for developing certain diseases or conditions) for people and make access to affordable insurance difficult. Also, data mining can prioritise (make a point of, highlight, call attention to (something as very important)) certain rich demographics (a particular sector of a population) for their services and direct public and private resources to people who can afford a high premium (insurance charge, insurance payment) for their services rather than to those who need them but cannot pay as much (the same). For a digital health ecosystem to work, it is important that the fundamentals be fixed from the ground up (completely).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.before one’s time (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - समय से पहले, जल्दी, बहुत जल्दी
English Meaning - premature, early, too early, too soon, before time.

2.ecosystem (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र
English Meaning - complex situation/environment.

3.salient (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मुख्य, महत्वपूर्ण
English Meaning - important, main, major, primary, notable.

4.repository (noun)

Hindi Meaning - भण्डार, केंद्रीय, स्थान
English Meaning - central (storing) place, storing place, reservoir.

5.illustratively (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - उदाहरण के लिए, व्याख्यात्मक रूप से, स्पष्ट रूप से
English Meaning - explanatorily, elucidatorily.

6.diagnosis (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निदान, पहचान, मान्यता
English Meaning - identification, recognition, determination, detection (of an illness).

7.imply (verb)

Hindi Meaning - मतलब रखना, सुझाव देना, संकेत करना
English Meaning - suggest, signify, say indirectly, indicate, point to.

8.in theory (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - सिद्धांत रूप में, काल्पनिक रूप से
English Meaning - in principle, hypothetically.

9.well-informed (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - जानकार
English Meaning - up-to-date, well-versed, sophisticated.

10.relevant (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - प्रासंगिक, लागू, उपयुक्त
English Meaning - pertinent, applicable, appropriate, suitable, related.

11.presumably (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - शायद, संभवतः
English Meaning - probably, in all likelihood, undoubtedly, seemingly.

12.act as (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - के रूप में कार्य, कार्य करना
English Meaning - operate, work, function, serve as.

13.interface (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अंतरापृष्ठ
English Meaning - the means/ways in which a person controls a software application or hardware device. A good user interface provides a “user-friendly” experience, allowing the user to interact with the software or hardware in a natural and intuitive way.

14.snazzy (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अत्यधिक आकर्षित
English Meaning - stylish, smart, attractive.

15.look for (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - ढूंढ़ना, खोज करना, तलाश करना
English Meaning - try to find/obtain a particular thing.

16.portability (noun)

English Meaning - convenience, handiness, flexibility, compactness.

17.National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) (noun)

English Meaning - a holistic, voluntary healthcare programme that will reduce the existing gap between various stakeholders such as doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers, pharmacies, insurance companies, and citizens by bringing them together and connecting them in an integrated digital health infrastructure.

18.haul (verb)

English Meaning - carry, take, move.

19.sound (verb)

English Meaning - appear, look, seem.

20.justification (noun)

English Meaning - reason, basis, rationale.

21.immobility (noun)

English Meaning - the state of something that is not able to be moved/transferred; motionlessness. 

22.insurmountable (adjective)

English Meaning - unconquerable, unassailable, unbeatable, unstoppable, overwhelming, hopeless, impossible; no way to overcome/defeat.

23.provision (noun)

English Meaning - distribution, supplying, providing, furnishing.

24.affordable (adjective)

English Meaning - economical, inexpensive, reasonably priced.

25.decade (noun)

English Meaning - a period of ten years.

26.novel coronavirus (nCoV) (SARS-CoV-2) (noun)

English Meaning - a new strain (type/variety) coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. (Courtesy: WHO)

27.pandemic (noun)

English Meaning - the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.

28.express (verb)

English Meaning - communicate, convey, indicate.

29.cater to (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - try to satisfy/fulfil a need of.

30.federalism/federal framework/system (noun)

English Meaning - a system of government in which establishments such as states or provinces share power with a national government.

31.manifold (adjective)

English Meaning - many, numerous, multiple (types).

32.graver comparative adjective of grave (adjective)

English Meaning - crucial/critical, important/significant, serious.

33.technocratic (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to a person who is with both political power as well as technical knowledge.

33.sheen (noun)

English Meaning - glimmer, shininess (of something).

34.mammoth (adjective)

English Meaning - something which is huge, massive, mighty, colossal.

35.in the absence of (phrase)

English Meaning - without, lacking.

36.privacy law (noun)

English Meaning - the body of law that deals with the regulating, storing, and using of personally identifiable information, personal healthcare information, and financial information of individuals, which can be collected by governments, public or private organisations, or other individuals.

37.open to (adjective)

English Meaning - susceptible to, liable to, prone to, vulnerable to.

38.sophisticated (adjective)

English Meaning - highly developed.

39.algorithm (noun)

English Meaning - the list of instructions and rules that a computer needs to do to complete a task.

40.construct (verb)

English Meaning - formulate, form, put together.

41.risk profile (noun)

English Meaning - a series of questions and basic medical tests, which can help determine a person’s risk for developing certain diseases or conditions.

42.data mining (noun)

English Meaning - a process used to extract usable data from a larger set of any raw data.

43.prioritise (verb)

English Meaning - make a point of, highlight, call attention to (something as very important).

44.demographic (noun)

English Meaning - a particular sector of a population.

45.cannot afford/can ill afford (phrase)

English Meaning - if you cannot afford to do something, you must prevent it from happening because it would be embarrassing and cause problems (if it happens).

46.afford (verb)

English Meaning - pay for, bear the expense of, meet the expense of, have the money for, manage.

47.premium (noun)

English Meaning - insurance charge, insurance payment.

48.rather than (phrase)

English Meaning - instead of.

49.as much (phrase)

English Meaning - the same.

50.from the ground up (phrase)

English Meaning - completely.