In an ambitious step towards bridging the global healthcare gap, India has put forward a formal proposal for a cross-border digital health framework during the Second Technical Meeting of the BRICS Health Track, co-chaired by India as the chair of the BRICS Chairship for 2026. The National Health Authority (NHA) highlighted the importance of adopting the most advanced remote care technologies to reach the populations of all member countries that are underserved medically and located in remote areas.
NHA-Led Discussions are centred on access to remote care
The technical meeting, which was held as part of Priority 4 of the BRICS Health Track 2026, focused on topics regarding “Digital Health Architecture for Continuum of Care, including access to healthcare in remote areas.” Dr Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO, National Health Authority (NHA), chaired the session. He has announced as the Chair of the Republic the theme of India’s Chairship “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”. The strategy makes resilient public health infrastructure, health technology, and preventive care the key domains of India’s global leadership.
Introducing Member Nations Present Technology Overhauls to Bridge the Rural Divide
During the NHA-led discussions, the member countries of the BRICS countries gave presentations of their domestic models of health informatics, such as digital tools for rural health facilities to connect with specialist health professionals in urban areas. The collaborative presentations were on the following main operational areas:
- Interoperability & Longitudinal Health Records: Implementing data standards that allow seamless, secure sharing of patient medical history across different tiers of healthcare facilities.
- Unified Telemedicine Platforms: Utilising virtual care networks to provide remote diagnoses and specialist consultations in geographically isolated regions.
- Streamlined Referral Systems: Deploying automated digital tools to manage patient transfers and follow-up care within the medical continuum.
These common approaches will be gathered in a common BRICS Compendium on Digital Health Architecture for Continuum of Care, acting as a repository of knowledge base for all member states.
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The digital healthcare talks come on the heels of the First BRICS Health Working Group Meeting in New Delhi earlier this year to build momentum for discussion. During that initial forum, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava broadened the scope of the collaboration by suggesting two more issues in the field of health care that could be addressed by the collaboration.
- The BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyles
- Promotion of Mental Health and Wellness
Among the BRICS alliance, the 2026 summits mark a transition from ‘after-care’ hospital care to ‘preventive care’ via digital health architecture and technology-driven tracking of community health and well-being.
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