India's healthcare system is undergoing a digitally enabled structural shift over the last few years. Driven by the scale of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) and a rapidly growing base of patients who now expect diagnostic and clinical services to be as accessible as any other digital transaction. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, over 79.91 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA IDs) had been created as of August 2025, with more than 67 crore health records linked and over 4.18 lakh health facilities registered on the Health Facility Registry created by the Government of India. These figures reflect a healthcare ecosystem that is being rebuilt around digital infrastructure at a national scale.
This digital shift is visible across Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai, Siliguri, Indore, Srinagar and Hyderabad, where diagnostic laboratories, hospitals, and clinics are integrating booking platforms, digital reporting and remote consultation tools into everyday patient care. For pathology and diagnostic services specifically, digital transformation has changed how patients book tests, receive reports and access medical laboratory services from the comfort of their homes.
What Is Digital Health? Defining the Scope.
Digital health is a broad clinical and operational segment that covers any technology-enabled tool used to deliver, manage or monitor healthcare. The scope has expanded considerably over the past decade and now includes:
- Electronic health records and unique digital health identifiers such as the ABHA ID under ABDM
- Telemedicine and teleconsultation platforms enabling remote doctor access
- Digital diagnostic booking systems including online test scheduling and home sample collection
- Mobile health applications for report access, appointment management and health tracking
- Wearable devices and remote patient monitoring tools
- Artificial intelligence and data analytics applied to diagnostic interpretation and risk prediction
Each of these components addresses a specific gap in traditional healthcare delivery, whether that gap is geographic distance, time constraints, record fragmentation or delayed access to results.
Key Trends Shaping Digital Health in India?
Several key trends are driving the pace of digital adoption in Indian healthcare:
- Government-led digital infrastructure: ABDM has created a standardized digital health identity system, with health facility and healthcare professional registries that support interoperability across health service providers and states.
- Telemedicine expansion: Virtual consultations, accelerated significantly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, have become a permanent fixture of primary and specialist care, particularly for follow-up visits and chronic disease management.
- Digital diagnostics and home-based testing: Online booking for blood tests, combined with doorstep sample collection, has reduced one of the most persistent barriers to regular health screening.
- Mobile-first healthcare interactions: A growing proportion of patients now book appointments, access reports, and communicate with healthcare providers through mobile applications and messaging platforms rather than phone calls or in-person visits.
- Artificial intelligence in diagnostics: Machine learning models are increasingly used to support pattern recognition in laboratory data, flag abnormal results for clinical review, and improve consistency in interpretation.
Industry estimates place the broader India digital health market at approximately USD 14.5 billion in 2024, with projections suggesting continued expansion through the remainder of the decade as digital infrastructure matures and patient adoption deepens.
Benefits of Digital Health for Patients?
The practical benefits of digital health tools are most evident in how they reduce friction and improve efficiency across the patient journey.
- Improved accessibility: Patients in smaller towns and tier 2 or tier 3 cities gain access to diagnostic and consultation services that were previously concentrated in metropolitan centres only
- Reduced travel and waiting time: Home sample collection and online booking eliminate the need to travel to a laboratory and wait in a queue for routine blood tests
- Faster report delivery: Digital reporting systems allow results to be delivered electronically, often on the same day, rather than requiring an in-person collection visit.
- Continuity of medical records: Digital health identifiers and linked records allow patients to maintain a consistent health history across different providers and visits.
- Greater transparency: Patients can review package details, pricing, and test parameters online before booking, reducing uncertainty around what a diagnostic panel includes.
- Convenience for working professionals and elderly patients: Scheduling flexibility, particularly through home visit services, supports patients who find it difficult to visit a laboratory during standard working hours.
How Are Digital Tools Transforming Diagnostic Testing?
Pathology and diagnostic testing have been one of the more visibly transformed segments of India's digital health ecosystem. Several capabilities that were previously unavailable or required in-person coordination are now considered as standard features of a well-run diagnostic service:
- Online test and package browsing, allowing patients to compare panels and pricing before booking
- Home visit scheduling, with trained phlebotomists collecting samples at a time convenient to the patient
- Digital prescription upload, enabling patients to share a physician's test recommendation without an in-person handoff
- Electronic report delivery, typically through a mobile application or secure online portal
- Conversational booking tools, such as WhatsApp-based chatbots, that allow patients to schedule tests, ask basic queries, and receive confirmations without navigating a full website or app
Unipath's Digital Health Initiatives: Bringing Technology to Diagnostics?
Unipath Specialty Laboratory has integrated several of these digital capabilities into its patient-facing services, structured around convenience without compromising NABL-accredited clinical standards.
- Website: The Unipath website allows patients to browse health packages, review individual test details and book appointments directly.
- Home visit booking: Patients across serviceable cities can schedule doorstep sample collection through the dedicated home visit booking page, removing the need to visit a laboratory in person.
- Mobile application: The Unipath Labs app, available on Google Play and the Apple App Store, gives patients a convenient way to manage their diagnostic journey from a smartphone, with extra discounts available on app-based bookings.
- Download Report: Patients can access and download their diagnostic reports directly through the app once processing is complete, without waiting for a physical copy or a separate email retrieval step.
- Upload Prescription: The app allows patients to upload a physician's prescription directly, streamlining the booking process for prescribed test panels.
- WhatsApp Chatbot: A WhatsApp-based chatbot supports quick booking, allowing patients to schedule a test or home visit through a familiar messaging interface without downloading a separate application.
Challenges in India's Digital Health Journey?
Digital transformation in healthcare is not without friction, and a balanced view of the sector requires acknowledging the gaps that remain.
- Digital literacy varies significantly across age groups and geographies, particularly among older patients and in areas with lower smartphone penetration.
- Connectivity in certain rural and semi-urban regions continues to limit consistent access to app-based or web-based healthcare services.
- Data privacy and security remain a legitimate patient concern, particularly as more health records move onto digital platforms.
- Maintaining clinical rigor alongside digital convenience is essential; technology should streamline access to testing, not substitute for accredited laboratory processing and pathologist oversight.
Addressing these gaps responsibly, rather than treating digital adoption as a substitute for clinical quality, will determine how effectively India's digital health ecosystem serves patients over the next decade.
The Future of Patient Care: What Lies Ahead?
The next phase of digital health in India is likely to be defined by deeper integration rather than the introduction of entirely new categories of technology.
- Wider interoperability between hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies and insurers through ABDM-linked digital health records
- Greater use of artificial intelligence in flagging abnormal diagnostic patterns for faster clinical review
- Expansion of home-based and mobile diagnostic services into smaller cities and towns beyond current metropolitan concentration
- Increasing convergence between teleconsultation and diagnostic testing, allowing a single digital touchpoint to cover both doctor consultation and laboratory follow-up
For patients across Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai, Siliguri, Indore, Srinagar, and Hyderabad, this trajectory points toward a healthcare experience that is increasingly accessible, transparent, and integrated, while continuing to rely on the same clinical accreditation and diagnostic accuracy that has always underpinned reliable patient care.
Unipath Diagnostic Services: Serviceable Cities
Ahmedabad • Surat • Vadodara • Kolkata • Jaipur • Mumbai • Siliguri • Jamnagar
For test bookings and inquiries: Contact Unipath
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References & Citations
Press Information Bureau - Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
National Health Authority – Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Official Portal
Grand View Research – India Digital Health Market Size, Share and Growth Report
World Health Organisation – Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-2025
World Health Organisation – Telemedicine: Opportunities and Developments in Member States