Ministry of AYUSH goes for centralised data collection of patients
Kolkata: Union Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) has initiated efforts for centralised collection of data regarding the number of patients being treated by the various institutions of AYUSH across the country.
The ministry has already taken initiatives for the collection of morbidity statistics pertaining to various systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. In assistance with Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani research councils, the ministry has developed Morbidity Codes and Standard Terminologies of Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha systems of medicine. The centralised portal developed for this purpose is recognised as National AYUSH Morbidity and Standardized Terminologies Portal (NAMSTP).
According to the ministry, the portal has the potential to revolutionise morbidity statistics data collection and may have a huge impact on the future policy making decision by bringing to light the contributions of various AYUSH systems in the healthcare delivery system of the country.
The key features of the portal includes the Morbidity Codes and Standardized Terminologies of all the AYUSH systems for unambiguous reporting, electronic data submission through individual institution login IDs and also an integrated Electronic Health Records (EHR) system for detailed data collection for individual institutions. It may be mentioned that the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and Ministry of AYUSH have jointly conducted a two-day training programme on documentation of information on the National AYUSH Morbidity and Standardized Terminologies Portal (NAMSTP). Around 74 nominated AYUSH professionals from across the country took part in the training.
Rajesh Kotecha, the Union AYUSH secretary, has emphasised on taking forward the documentation of Morbidity Statistics across all healthcare setups in the country in a sustainable manner. He further stressed the mandatory requirements of AYUSH colleges and institutions funded by the Ministry of AYUSH under various schemes. He said it would facilitate in mass documentation of AYUSH morbidity statistics in an effective manner. He also urged the AYUSH professionals, who are undergoing training, must take initiative to disseminate the capacity building in an effective manner across the stakeholders in different states.
World Health Organisation (WHO) has already tied up with the Ministry of AYUSH to chalk out a detailed plan on how traditional modes of treatment can be adopted in foreign countries. The AYUSH Ministry also signed 'Project Collaboration Agreement' (PCA) with the WHO for co-operation on promoting the quality, safety, and effectiveness of serving provision in traditional and complementary medicine.
