‘Heal by India’ scheme to send medicos abroad nears launch

New Delhi: Indian doctors, nurses and paramedical personnel are to be despatched abroad to help out with medical treatments, two officials aware of the matter said, outlining a scheme that is to be launched shortly.

The National Health Authority (NHA) will provide technical support for the scheme, called Heal by India, while the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission’s (ABDM) registry will provide data on healthcare personnel.

The ABDM registry has the names of 165,726 healthcare professionals, out of which 76,173 are doctors.

“Heal by India will be a single source of database having details of ministry of external affairs-registered and PGE-licensed recruiting agencies and employers and verified healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses, dentists, AYUSH professionals, allied health professionals, pharmacists, etc. Such an initiative will provide accessibility, transparency and trust to all stakeholders. The platform has been developed by the NHA and will have support from the registry of verified healthcare professionals,” one of the two officials cited above said on condition of anonymity.

India, which has positioned itself as the ‘pharmacy of the world’, aims to showcase its healthcare capacity as part of soft power projections.

“The portal is ready, and right now, we are working for the formal launch of the Heal in India platform in coordination with the health ministry,” the second official added.

Queries sent to the health ministry remained unanswered.

Dr Aashish Chaudhry, managing director, Aakash Healthcare, said, “Heal By India is a welcome move to showcase talent and expertise of Indian doctors internationally. Right now, I am here at Tashkent and have just operated on three cases of knees at the apex military command hospital. Heal by India initiative is a great opportunity for our doctors and other medical professionals to travel other countries to perform surgeries, a way to a healthy global society.”

The health ministry is also working on a related initiative to encourage foreigners to travel to India for medical treatment.

The government has developed a ‘Medical Value Travel’ digital portal for foreign patients. In 2021, over 300,000 foreign patients visited India for medical treatment.

India has been ranked 10th in the Medical Tourism Index for 2020-2021 out of 46 destinations by the Medical Tourism Association.