Team siliconindia

• NHA renews MoU with DHR and ICMR to advance evidence-based healthcare reforms.
• Partnership to strengthen cost-effectiveness, quality, and equity in national health schemes.
• Collaboration expands to include digital health initiatives under ABDM.

The National Health Authority (NHA) has renewed its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Health Research (DHR) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to strengthen data-driven healthcare reforms in India. The renewed collaboration aims to support evidence-based policymaking, improve resource allocation, and enhance the quality of services under flagship programs such as Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

The agreement was signed by Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO of NHA, and Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary of DHR and Director General of ICMR, in the presence of senior officials from the health ministry and the Red Cross Society.

First established in 2019, the NHA-DHR/ICMR partnership has played a vital role in developing Health Benefit Packages (HBPs) under PM-JAY using Health Technology Assessment (HTA) principles. The renewed MoU reinforces their shared focus on assessing the clinical efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and equity impact of healthcare technologies and procedures.

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The collaboration will also extend to ABDM, where DHR and ICMR, through HTA India (HTAIn), will help evaluate digital health solutions such as electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine, and AI-based diagnostics to ensure accessibility, affordability, and sustainability.

Key areas of focus include costing of healthcare services, implementation of Standard Treatment Workflows (STWs), and operational research to enhance care quality and strengthen India’s path toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).