ABDM Crosses 90 Crore ABHA Health Accounts: Notes
Why in the news
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission has reached a milestone of more than 90 crore ABHA accounts created nationwide.
Key facts
- Scheme: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), a flagship digital public infrastructure (DPI) project.
- Run by the National Health Authority (NHA), which reports to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- Started in September 2021.
- Milestone: over 90 crore ABHAs generated.
- It links citizens, doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, diagnostic centres and insurers on a single interoperable digital network.
Six building blocks
| Block | Function |
|---|---|
| ABHA | 14-digit health ID that lets people link and share their medical history |
| HPR (Healthcare Professionals Registry) | Verified database covering doctors, nurses and paramedics, in modern and traditional medicine |
| HFR (Health Facility Registry) | Master list of public and private hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres and pharmacies |
| HIE-CM (Health Information Exchange and Consent Manager) | Moves records only with explicit, electronic and revocable patient consent |
| UHI (Unified Health Interface) | Open network protocol for teleconsultation, diagnostics and other digital health services |
| NHCX (National Health Claims Exchange) | Platform to standardise and speed up insurance claim settlement |
Aims of the mission
- Create an integrated, transparent and interoperable digital health infrastructure.
- Close the information gap between public and private healthcare.
- Build a single source of truth for health data.
- Give citizens ownership of their lifelong health records.
Background: DPI
- DPI means shared, open, interoperable digital systems acting as basic plumbing for public and private services.
- Typical layers: identity (Aadhaar), payments (UPI) and data exchange (Account Aggregator, DigiLocker, ABDM).
- Traits: public-good orientation, open standards and APIs, interoperability, and consent and privacy by design.
- In health, ABHA acts as the identity layer, HIE-CM and UHI as exchange layers, and NHCX as the settlement layer.
Exam angle
- Implementing agency: NHA; ministry: MoHFW.
- ABHA length: 14 digits.
- Related terms: DPI, Health Stack, Consent Manager.