About the programme

• The Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) was initiated under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in assistance with the World bank, in the year 2004. 
• The scheme aimed to strengthen disease surveillance for infectious diseases to detect and respond to outbreaks immediately. 
• The Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), receives disease outbreak reports from the States/UTs on a weekly basis. 
• The surveillance data is collected on three specified reporting formats, namely “S” (suspected cases), “P” (presumptive cases) and “L” (laboratory confirmed cases) filled by Health Workers, Clinicians and Laboratory staff respectively. 
• State/District Surveillance Units analyses this data weekly, to interpret the disease trends and seasonality of diseases.

Objective:

• To strengthen/maintain decentralized laboratory-based IT enabled disease surveillance systems for epidemic-prone diseases to monitor disease trends and to detect and respond to outbreaks in early rising phase through trained Rapid Response Team (RRTs).

Programme Components:

• Integration and decentralization of surveillance activities through the establishment of surveillance units at Centre, State and District level.
• Human Resource Development – Training of State Surveillance Officers, District Surveillance Officers, Rapid Response Team and other Medical and Paramedical staff on principles of disease surveillance.
• Use of Information Communication Technology for collection, collation, compilation, analysis and dissemination of data.
• Strengthening of public health laboratories
• Inter sectoral Coordination for zoonotic disease

Why in the news? 

• The Integrated Health Information Platform, the next generation highly refined version of the presently used Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) was launched by the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare recently.

About Integrated Health Information Platform

• India is the first country in the world to adopt such an advanced disease surveillance system.
• The new version of IHIP will house the data entry and management for India’s disease surveillance program. 
• In addition to tracking 33 diseases now as compared to the earlier 18 diseases, it shall ensure near-real-time data in digital mode, having done away with the paper-mode of working.
• It is in sync with the National Digital Health Mission and fully compatible with the other digital information systems presently being used in India. 
• The refined IHIP with automated data will help in a big way in real time data collection, aggregation & further analysis of data that will aid and enable evidence-based policy making.
• IHIP will provide a health information system developed for real time, case-based information, integrated analytics, advanced visualization capability. 
• It will provide analyzed reports on mobile or other electronic devices. 
• In addition, outbreak investigation activities can be initiated and monitored electronically. 
• It can easily be integrated with other ongoing surveillance program, while having the feature of addition of special surveillance modules.
• An advanced digital platform like this for scouting the earliest signs of disease spread in the smallest of villages and blocks in the country will immensely help in nipping in the bud any potential outbreak or epidemic. 
• This refined digital surveillance platform will help to provide and connect data and move towards ‘One Health’ approach.

Reference:

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1709676