Almost 23 crore Ayushman Bharat health accounts created so far, says govt

Almost 23 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) numbers, which are 14-digit health Ids, have been created so far, with Andhra Pradesh generating the highest 3.21 crore followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Lok Sabha was told Friday.

In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said ABHA numbers can be generated for citizens of all age groups with a KYC (know your customer) verification.

The ABHA number is a 14-digit Id that allows users to save their health records and medical investigations online. The data can be accessed and shared online by healthcare providers across the country.

Pawar said the creation of ABHA number is voluntary.

"Till July 15, 2022, a total of 22,97,64,327 ABHA numbers have been created. ABHA number can be populated across existing digital health interventions to create longitudinal electronic health record (EHR) of the citizen. Inclusion is one of the core design principles for all ABDM (Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission) building blocks," she said.

The ABDM has been launched by the government with the aim to establish the National Digital Health ecosystem by creating an online platform, enabling interoperability of health data so as to create a EHR of citizens.

Three key registries of ABDM -- namely ABHA number/health ID, Health Professional Registry (HPR), Health Facility Registry (HFR) -- and digital infrastructure for data exchange is created to enable data interoperability across digital health platforms.