Government links health records of 25 crores people to their ‘Ayushman Bharat Health Account’ for all-time access

New Delhi [India], February 28 (ANI): The National Health Authority (NHA) under its flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has achieved another milestone in the healthcare ecosystem, said a press release on Tuesday.

In a major development, the Governmnet of India (GoI) release informed that over 25 crore health records of individuals have been linked to their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account). These records can be easily accessed and managed by individuals using any of the ABDM-enabled health apps. The digitally available health records will enable the ABHA holders in availing of paperless health services across the ABDM network.

The statement further stated that Individuals can use their Personal Health Records (PHR) apps to access their records across different health facilities like hospitals, clinics, diagnostic labs, etc, and store them in the app. They can digitally share the relevant records with verified healthcare providers over the ABDM network. This enables a completely paperless exchange of records in a secure manner while doing away with the hassles of searching for physical medical documents or worrying about losing old records. The healthcare providers get consented access to detailed patient history, thereby helping them in better clinical decision-making.

Speaking on the significance of this milestone, the CEO, of NHA said – “Digitization of physical records is crucial to the objective of building an inter-operable and accessible healthcare ecosystem. The speed at which health records are being made more accessible via ABHA linking indicates the sincerity of all stakeholders as well as the robustness and scalability of the underlying technology. The objective of ABDM can be achieved with collaborative efforts from majority stakeholders that benefit the end patients.”

Elaborating further on the importance of ABHA-linked health records, the CEO, of NHA said – “The patients are empowered with ready access to their records and the choice of sharing selected records. This eliminates the need for the patient to travel to the physical healthcare facility for initial or follow-up consultations. With patients/ individuals at the center, we are enabling easy exchange of information across different applications and platforms, thus bringing more efficiency and accessibility in delivery of healthcare services.”

The GoI release lauded the efforts of states and UTs in the step towards the digital linking of health records marking that the initiative of digitalization is making tremendous progress.

Sharing the stats it noted that in the last 40 days, the number of health records linked to ABHA has jumped from 4 crores (as of 18th January 2023) to 25 crores (as on 27th February 2023).

The health records linkage got a major push through the integration of ABHA with the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). With over 9.8 crore AB PM-JAY health records linked to ABHA, the scheme beneficiaries get portable and digital records that they can access and share online in a secure manner, the statement further marked.