Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is a scheme launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with a chief focus on the development of a foundation for digitalisation of the healthcare system across the country. Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) is a key feature of the ABDM initiative taken by the government of India that grants you access to a health card with a unique identification number.

Under this mission, the citizens of India are provided with numerous benefits, such as hassle-free access to medical treatments and healthcare facilities, easy sign-up options for personal health record applications (like ABDM ABHA app), and trustable identity. You can find out what ABHA health card is and some of the ABHA card benefits here.

What is ABHA card?

Consider a scenario where an individual is seeking the medical opinion of a specialised doctor who may be in a differ city or even country. In such a case, sharing your diagnostic test results and details of treatment given by your local doctor proves to be a cumbersome process. An ABHA card can help the individual share the documents with any doctor in a seamless manner.

ABHA card, also known as ABHA health card, is a healthcare ID card offered by the government of India to its citizens. This card comprises a 14-digit identification number obtained using your mobile number and your AADAR number. The Ayushman Bharat Health Account card or ABHA card allows you to maintain all your medical history, such as past diagnostic reports, digitally on a single platform without any hassle of keeping extensive files.

Benefits of the ABHA card

An ABHA card not only facilitates the documentation of your medical records but also offers numerous other benefits. Some of the ABHA card benefits are provided here.

As specified earlier, your Ayushman Bharat Health Account lets you keep all your medical reports and records digitally on one platform. This frees you from the worry of finding all your health reports and carrying them to the doctor every time.

With an ABHA health card, you can share access to your medical records with your doctor. Moreover, these records cannot be obtained by any doctor without your consent. You can also rescind access given for your records at any time.

You do not have to worry about getting your medical information leaked with ABHA. The ABHA platform is secured with numerous measures including a vigorous encryption system.

With ABHA, you can easily and securely contact a qualified doctor and/or healthcare professionals for consultation when required. All the doctors or healthcare professionals you may find through ABHA are verified.

Holding an ABHA health card is not essential to seek medical attention. You can create a health card ID with ABHA, which can be deactivated any time you wish to leave the platform.

You can add a beneficiary to your ABHA after getting your health card. This facility has yet to be introduced to the citizens of India and will be available in the near future.

How to apply for ABHA card online

You can apply for an ABHA health card online with your AADHAAR card or driving licence. You can follow the steps given here to create your Ayushman Bharat Health Account.

1. Go to the official website for ABDM at https://healthid.ndhm.gov.in/.

2. Select the ‘Create ABHA Number’ option on the website.

3. Choose your preferred ID, i.e., AADHAAR card or driving licence, for crating the ABHA number.

4. Then, you will need to fill your mobile number on which you will receive an OTP for next procedure.

5. Once you confirm your mobile number with the OPT, you will be directed to a National Authority Form page. Fill the required personal details, such as your name, email id, and mobile number. The information provided must be up to date.

6. You can now download your ABHA health card from the website.

Documents required for ABHA card

To acquire an ABHA card, you first need to apply for the card online or offline. For this application, you will be required to provide your updated personal information along with an identity proof. Here is a list of documents and details that you may need to provide for creating ABHA.

1. AADHAAR card

2. Mobile number

3. PAN

4. Driving licence

You can use the ABHA health card to avail its numerous benefits. In addition to this, you can also utilise your ABHA card to make some processes associated with medical service selection easy for you.

1. You can use your ABHA card to access the Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR). This registry provides you with a list of information of all the doctors across the country.

2. Additionally, you can use this card to gain access to Health Facility Registry (HFR). This registry offers you details of all the private and government health facilities available in India.

3. ABHA card also allows you to look for alternative medicinal facilities as well such as Yoga, Ayurveda, and Naturopathy.

4. You can share access to your medical records with your hospitals and doctors with your ABHA health card.

You can download your ABHA card once your complete your ABHA registration process. You can obtain your ABHA card by using the following two ways:

1. Go to the official website of ABDM at https://abdm.gov.in/. Log in to your ABHA and download your ABHA card.

2. You can go to the ABHA mobile app. If you don’t have the app, you can download it from PlayStore if you use android. Log in to your ABHA with the app and download the ABHA card.

The continuously rising costs of the healthcare service can burn a hole in your pocket if you don’t make a well-thought plan to battle them. A health insurance policy is an extremely useful tool that you can utilise strategically in a medical crisis. With the wide variety of health insurance providers offering polices in India, you may wonder about the cost effectiveness of such policies.

When you look for a health insurance plan online, you can compare the different policies available to select the plan that suits you the best. Moreover, many insurance providers offering health insurance policies online allow you to calculate your premiums with their health Insurance premium calculator. Calculating your premium rate with such a tool can help you ensure that your get the best possible coverage against your premium paid.

FAQs

You can get an ABHA card by applying for it online for free.

No. It is not mandatory for anyone to register for an ABHA card. Furthermore, if you choose to get an ABHA health card, you can deactivate it any time you wish to do so.

The medical information you submit to ABHA is entirely confidential and saved by following strict security measures. Only you can share access to your records with doctors. Without your consent, no one can access your medical records.

Yes. You can revoke the access to your information shared with a doctor or hospital any time you want. Once, you revoke this access, your records will no longer be visible to the hospital or doctor.

You only have to be a citizen of India in order to obtain an ABHA health card. There is no other eligibility criterion.