PRAYAGRAJ, April 4 -- The health department has begun integrating the Open Data Kit (ODK) app to capture real-time data from Ayushman Arogya Mandirs across the Prayagraj division. The initiative aims to digitise daily healthcare data and enhance monitoring mechanisms, officials said. Dr Rakesh Sharma, additional director of health, Prayagraj, said that all Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in the division are being brought onto the platform. "This will enable real-time tracking of patient examinations, improve monitoring, and support policy formulation at the state level," he said. Health officials believe the move will significantly strengthen service delivery. Dr Harit Saxena, divisional project manager, National Rural Health Mission, noted that the system would provide the government with live, ground-level data. He added that the app has been designed to function effectively even in areas with limited internet connectivity, while ensuring transparency through digital processes. The data collected will help identify regional disease trends and assess timely requirements for medicines and healthcare personnel. ODK is an open-source mobile data collection platform widely used for field data gathering. The Android-based application allows healthcare workers to record patient information, photographs, location details, and survey data on mobile devices, which can later be uploaded to a central server. The app is now being integrated across all Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. At present, 1,114 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are operational in rural areas of the Prayagraj division, and their integration with the ODK app is underway. Of these, 521 centres are in Prayagraj, 228 in Pratapgarh, 229 in Fatehpur, and 136 in Kaushambi....