Understanding the ABDM Ecosystem

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is a step towards a digital future and the transformation of the healthcare sector in India.

The ABDM aims to develop the required framework that supports the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. It will bridge the gaps among stakeholders, such as patients, healthcare providers and administrators in the healthcare sector.

Patients form the core of the ABDM ecosystem. Other components of the ABDM include:

Policy makers – Central government and state governments
Administrators – Program managers and regulators
Non-profit organizations – NGOs, developmental partners and associations
Healthcare providers – Doctors, hospitals, clinics, laboratories, pharmacies and wellness centres
Allied private entities – Health tech companies, digital health apps, third party administrators (TPAs) and insurers
Healthcare professionals – Other doctors including Ayurvedic doctors and doctors of modern and alternative medicine

Image source: NHA | Official website Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (abdm.gov.in)

Together, all of these components work to bring connected healthcare to Indians, through a national digital health ecosystem that supports universal health coverage in an efficient, accessible, inclusive, affordable, timely and safe manner.

There are four main aspects that bring together the various components and stakeholders under the ABDM:

Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA)

The ABHA number is used to uniquely identify individuals, authenticate them and build their health records (only with their informed consent) across multiple systems and stakeholders.

A user’s ABHA number helps to standardize the process of identification of that individual across healthcare providers to ensure that the created medical records are issued to the correct individual or accessed by the Health Information User through appropriate consent.

Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR)

The Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) is an important component of the ABDM ecosystem. It is a comprehensive repository of healthcare professionals across India. The HPR aims to create a nationwide network of healthcare professionals for the benefit of patients and doctors. It includes all registered and verified healthcare practitioners of all branches of medicine, including modern medicine, AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and homoeopathy), dentists, nurses and paramedics. The HPR provides a unique Healthcare Professional ID to those who enroll, similar to an ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) for patients.

Healthcare professionals who sign up for the HPR are digitally connected to a multitude of services called ‘Unified Digital Services’ which are interoperable and digitally enabled.

Health Facility Registry (HFR)

The Health Facility Registry is a wide repository of health facilities in the country across different systems of medicine. The HFR includes public and private health facilities such as hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories and imaging centers and pharmacies. Enrolling in the Health Facility Registry will enable health facilities to get connected to India’s digital health ecosystem.

ABHA Mobile App (PHR)

A PHR is an electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards and can be drawn from multiple sources while being managed, shared, and controlled by the individual. The functions that are supported by a Personal Health Record system (PHR) will enable individuals to manage information about their healthcare. This includes viewing of an extensive record, comprising of all health data, lab reports, treatment details, discharge summaries across one or multiple health facilities.

Main features of the ABHA mobile application:

Creation of ABHA address
Discovery of health information
Linking health records with a given ABHA address
View health records
Management of consent

For patients in particular, the creation of an ABHA is the first step to leveraging numerous benefits under the ABDM. With an ABHA, citizens from across all sectors of society can enjoy hassle-free, efficient, cost-effective and connected access to healthcare.

Click here to know more about ABDM

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