Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the rollout of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) on Monday which is a database of healthcare documents to enable people to access their past medical reports digitally.
During its launch, PM Modi said that the initiative has the “potential of bringing a revolutionary change in India’s healthcare facilities”. However, the mission's success will depend highly on the private sector as they provide 60 to 70 per cent of the healthcare services in the country.
Here’s all you need to know about this digital healthcare database and how to register yourself:
How to be a part of ABDM?
To be a part of the ABDM program, you can self-register on its website, which will generate your health ID, a random 14-digit number. This ‘unique’ health id can be used for unique identification, authentication and threading of health documents.
Alternatively, it can be generated from any government or private hospital or healthcare facility.
Along with the ID, you will need to set up a Personal Health Records (PHR) address for consent management and to access your documents in the future.
What are the features of ABDM?
Any beneficiary of ABDM can get access to their digital health records in one place including admission, treatment and discharge information.
Apart from digitisation of healthcare records, ABDM aims to expand to telemedicines as well to allow people access to verified doctors across the country digitally.
During the launch, PM Modi said that ABDM will connect digital health solutions of hospitals from different parts of the country.
What about Aadhaar requirement and data security?
Linking your Aadhaar number is not mandatory on this service. You can register yourself on the portal using your phone number.
According to the NHA, the health records of beneficiaries are not stored on the ABDM portal. Only upon the beneficiary's consent, the documents can be shared over the ABDM network “with encryption mechanisms”.
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