National Tele Mental Health programme to be launched comprising 23 mental health networks

In a much-welcomed move, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced the launch of the National Tele Mental Health Program, noting that the COVID pandemic had accentuated mental health problems in people of all ages. As the Finance Minister tabled the Union Budget 2022, she said that the National Tele Mental Health Programme will be launched to improve access to quality mental health counselling and care services. Reacting to the announcement, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also thanked PM Modi and the Finance Minister over the announcement. 

The Health Minister asserted, "the National Tele-Mental Health Programme will ensure access to quality, standardized & free 24x7 mental health services to all & will play a crucial role in bridging a major gap in access to mental healthcare in the country."

National Tele Mental Health program to be launched soon

According to the announcement made by the Finance Minister the programme will include a network of 23 tele mental health centres of excellence with NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences) being the nodal centre and IIIT Bangalore providing technical support.

The initiative for better mental health includes an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem will be rolled out which will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities.

At the start of her presentation, Sitharaman expressed empathy with those who were affected by the adverse health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Finance Minister also mentioned that the 2022 Budget seeks to lay the foundation to steer the economy over 'Amrit Kaal' of India - the next 25 years from India at 75 to India at 100, and build on the vision of Union Budget.

The Finance Minister also announced that IIIT Bangalore will provide technical support for specialised teleconsultation services. The programme will consist of 23 tele-mental health centres as a part of the network with NIHMANS being the central agency. 

For now, the government is creating Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) that gives a randomly generated 14 digit number that can be used for the purposes of uniquely identifying persons, authenticating them, and reading their health records, only with informed consent across multiple systems and stakeholders.