Mandaviya calls for integration of AYUSH into mainstream public healthcare delivery

The integration of AYUSH into mainstream public healthcare delivery is important as it can offer a more holistic approach to patient care, combining the strengths of both conventional medicine and AYUSH system of healthcare, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday.

"India is significantly strengthening its healthcare services by striving towards an integrated health policy that will benefit not just the nation, but serve the world," Mandaviya said as he delivered the inaugural address at the National AYUSH Mission Conclave organised by the Ministry of AYUSH.

The event witnessed the launch of Information and Communication Technology initiatives namely AHMIS (Ayush Health Management Information System) and eLMS (Education Learning Management System).

Mandaviya lauded the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that envisages integrated healthcare services in the nation by synergising the capacities and resources of both traditional and modern medicine.

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Elaborating further, he stated that the collaboration between modern and traditional medicine is striving towards "establishing multiple systems of medicine at a single platform facilitating cross-referrals and enabling true integration of different systems of medicine”.

The minister commended the integration of AYUSH systems in central government hospitals and further added that to fully empower the present healthcare system, "it is important to integrate AYUSH into mainstream public healthcare delivery as this integration can offer a more comprehensive and holistic approach to patient care, combining the strengths of both conventional medicine and AYUSH systems of healthcare”.

Highlighting the importance and relevance of Ayurveda and other traditional principles, he said, “India's heritage of traditional medicine advocates and adopts a holistic perspective towards health with a focus on wellness at its foundation.”

Commending the initiatives of 'Heal by India' and 'Heal in India' that have been well received by the world, the health minister said there is an increasing inflow of patients from world over who are travelling to India to receive treatment, and a rapidly growing demand for medical professionals from India, trained both in modern and traditional medicine.

He further cited the development of the WHO-Global Centre for Traditional Medicine at Jamnagar, Gujarat, empowering India as a global leader in traditional medicine.

Thanking Mandaviya for the support extended in the momentum of integrative medicine, Union AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said mainstreaming the potential of AYUSH within a pluralistic system of integrative healthcare is being envisioned through the new initiatives of Ministry of Ayush in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

He further added that the National AYUSH Mission (NAM) provides support to states and Union territories for co-location of AYUSH facilities in primary health centres (PHCs), community health centres (CHCs) and district hospitals (DHs).

Additionally, he cited the provision for "setting up integrated AYUSH hospitals, new AYUSH dispensaries in various parts of the country are in the pipeline to facilitate easy accessibility and affordability of AYUSH services for the masses.”

State health ministers, who joined the meeting, included Daya Shanker Mishra (Uttar Pradesh), Dr R Lalthangliana (Mizoram), Alo-libang (Arunachal Pradesh), Keshab Mahanta (Assam), S Pangnyu Phom (Nagaland), and Banna Gupta (Jharkhand).