In earlier days, it took a lot of work for anyone to maintain their health care documents in physical format and create heavy files. To address this concern, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India, developed a solution where one can keep their health care document related to their current and historic health care records in an e-wallet like Digi locker. A patient can access these electronic health records, which are safely stored in this e-wallet, anytime and anywhere. This e-wallet is known as Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA).

Purpose of ABHA ID:

There is an ABHA number associated with the ABHA ID that helps in signing up for the ABHA address. This account helps an individual to keep their medical records organised seamlessly. Thus, the Personal health record of every citizen, like prescriptions, diagnoses, test reports, etc. can be easily uploaded into the ABHA e-wallet. If one wants to share this data, it is advised to create an ABDM ABHA address and, thereafter, link with your ABHA number for an effortless process.

The Need To Create ABHA Digital Health ID Card?

Carrying physical medical reports anywhere and everywhere when you visit any health care center like a diagnostic centre, clinic, or hospital, is a task in itself. Not only will it lead to carrying heavy files, but it will make it a cumbersome task to keep track of the medical history of one individual. Due to such difficulty, there was a major gap between the patient and the doctor concerning the transfer of medical record information. Thus, it led to delays in receiving information from patients and, in a way slowdown in treatment at times.

Therefore, an ABHA digital health ID solves all these issues by storing all the medical information in one place. Once you have your ABHA ID number, all you have to do is share your unique ID number with the medical provider, like a doctor, lab technician, or insurer. With a few clicks, they can view all your medical information instantly. Thus, it is created with the aim to reduce critical care response time.

 

Who Is Eligible For ABHA card:

ABHA is a unique health ID that has a 14-digit identification number that can be easily generated using an Aadhar card, driving license, or mobile number. Anyone who is a citizen of India and has any of these documents is eligible to get an ABHA card to access health records digitally without any cost. All you need is a smartphone or computer with an internet connection.

Benefits of ABHA card:

Digital health records:

You can get click-away access to all your medical records to input into your ABHA card, from treatment to discharge documents like tests, prescriptions, and diagnoses, in a paperless way.

 

Access To Doctors:

You can get easy access to qualified and verified healthcare providers securely. It helps you get a doctor’s consultation too.

 

Consent-approved data access:

Access to your health records is given completely to you with prior clear and informed consent. You have the right to manage and revoke the consent whenever in need. Thus, all the medical information linked to your ABHA ID is not shared with anyone else but just you.

 

Secured and private platform:

As the platform is built with robust security and encryption mechanisms, no information is shared with anyone else, thus, keeping every medical document handy, secured, and safe.

 

 

Voluntary Opt-in:

There is no compulsion to create an ABHA ID card. You can participate to create at your own will voluntarily with no external pressure. This gives enough room to every citizen of India to decide whether such an effective ABHA health card is useful to them or not.

 

Personal health records (PHR):

The self-declared username or PHR address (Personal Health Records) is required to login into the Health Information Exchange and Consent Manager (HIE-CM). Each ABHA number holder will require linkage to a consent manager to enable data sharing. Thus, access and link your PHR with ABHA to create long-term health history.

 

Accessibility on various devices:

The Government of India built this initiative for anyone and everyone who uses a smartphone, feature phone, or laptop having an internet connection. Thus, it is not restricted to one type of device.

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Account (Health ID) will create a seamless online process that will be a safe and secure platform to keep the person’s health records confidential. Also, with this initiative, the Government of India aims to reduce the risk of preventable medical errors and increase the quality of healthcare service in the country.

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay (Source)