According to the Union Health Ministry, under the ABDM, a user can generate their 14-digit unique ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) number.
Further the users can use the ABHA number to link their existing and new medical records including doctor prescriptions, lab reports, hospital records etc. and also share these records with registered health professionals and health service providers, the ministry said.
"We would soon roll out the functionality to view the users` digital health records as well, he added.
"With ABHA, Aarogya Setu has enabled an important consent based option for the citizens which will help them access their personal health record and useful services from the national digital health system," said Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Hre's How to generate your ABHA number :-
- Visit -- https://abdm.gov.in/ -- or download the ABHA app
- Go to create my ABHA number tab
- Put in your Aadhaar number or driving licence number or PAN number
- An OTP will be sent to your Aadhaar-linked (or driving licence-linked/PAN-linked) mobile number
- Put in the OTP
- You will be asked to put in a mobile number that you would like to connect with your Ayushman Bharat Health Account
- After you put in the mobile number, an OTP will be sent to that mobile number (it can be the same or different from the previous one)
- After you put in the OTP the second time, a National Health Authority form would open up
- Fill in your details like -- name, date of birth, e-mail ID, gender, permanent address. The form also asks you to create an ABHA/PHR address. As per the form, "The PHR (Personal Health Records) address is a self-declared username that is required to sign into a Health Information Exchange & Consent Manager (HIE-CM). Currently, all ABHA users can generate their own PHR address during ABHA sign-up." Basically, you have to come up with a login ID. For instance -- batman@ndhm or gotham@ndhm
- Once you fill in and submit the form, your ABHA ID will be generated. You will also get the option to download your ABHA card.
- Subsequently, you can avail all the services offered by logging into your ABHA account using your login credentials.
- Acknowledging the hesitation that many people may have with regard to sharing their health data on a platform, stringent protocols have been put in place to ensure privacy. According to the government website, "ABDM does not store any of your health records. Your health records are stored with healthcare information providers as per their retention policies, and are shared over the ABDM network with encryption mechanisms only after your express consent."
