New Delhi: The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has emerged as one of the world’s largest digital health ecosystems, with more than 104 crore health records now linked to over 93 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) accounts, according to an official fact sheet released by the government on Monday.
The mission aims to build a citizen-centric digital healthcare ecosystem by enabling secure access to health records, reducing paperwork, shortening waiting times at hospitals and connecting patients with healthcare providers and insurers through a unified digital platform.
ABDM strengthens digital healthcare
Launched in September 2021, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission seeks to create the digital infrastructure needed to achieve universal health coverage by making healthcare services more accessible, efficient and interoperable across India.
At the heart of the initiative is the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), a unique digital health identifier that allows individuals to securely link their medical records across hospitals, laboratories, insurance providers and national health programmes, subject to patient consent.
The government said the platform enables citizens to access and manage their health information digitally while ensuring privacy and secure data sharing.
Aarogya Setu 2.0 expands digital health services
The government has also introduced Aarogya Setu 2.0 as a citizen-facing digital health application under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
The upgraded platform enables users to create ABHA accounts, manage digital health records, book teleconsultations and hospital appointments, access insurance information, locate nearby healthcare facilities and monitor personal health through integration with wearable devices.
The application is intended to provide a single digital interface for accessing a range of healthcare services.
Scan and Share reduces waiting time
According to the fact sheet, the National Health Authority’s Scan and Share service has significantly improved outpatient registration at healthcare facilities.
As of June 18, more than 23.21 crore ABHA-linked digital tokens had been generated using the service, helping reduce registration time and streamline patient flow at hospitals.
The initiative allows patients to register digitally by scanning a QR code instead of completing manual paperwork.
Incentives support digital adoption
To encourage wider adoption of the digital health ecosystem, the government has disbursed financial incentives to participating stakeholders.
According to the official data, incentives exceeding Rs 107 crore have been released to hospitals, while more than Rs 2.95 crore has been provided to diagnostic centres, laboratories and pharmacies.
Additionally, over Rs 26 crore has been disbursed to digital solution providers contributing to the implementation of the mission.
Smaller clinics join digital ecosystem
The fact sheet also highlighted the expansion of the e-Sushrut Clinic platform, a lightweight hospital management information system developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
The platform enables smaller healthcare facilities to digitise patient records and administrative processes.
More than 2,200 healthcare facilities have been onboarded onto the e-Sushrut Clinic platform so far, extending digital healthcare capabilities beyond large hospitals.
Conclusion
With over 104 crore linked health records and 93 crore ABHA accounts, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission continues to expand India’s digital healthcare infrastructure. Through initiatives such as Aarogya Setu 2.0, Scan and Share, and e-Sushrut Clinic, the government aims to improve healthcare access, efficiency and interoperability while accelerating the country’s transition towards a digitally connected health ecosystem.