2020 was a chaotic and undoubtedly the most erratic year for everyone around the globe. We were in midst of the pandemic while COVID 19 was affecting our all walks of life- physically, economically and culturally.
This was when on September 27, 2021, Ayushman Bharat Health Account(ABHA) was launched by the Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare, nearly an year following the outbreak of the pandemic. It is a health Savings Account under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Yojana ( AB-PMJAY) which pursues Universal Health Coverage (UHC) providing health benefits to the vulnerable and helpless economically weaker sections of the country .
What is ABHA? Why do we need it?
It is designed to connect hospitals across the country digitally and js fully approved by the National Health Authority (NHA) which is responsible for implementation of the role of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and creation of a National Digital Health Ecosystem
Website: https://healthid.ndhm.gov.in/
The Government plans to upgrade its health programs in different states through the ABHA ID, thus connecting hospitals across the country digitally.
The prime motive behind the launch of this highly anticipated step by the Government is “….to create, develop and strengthen India’s healthcare infrastructure by integrating the user’s medical records and creating a single-point and safe access.”
This initiative allows the user to share details with healthcare centers and medical professionals across India. Users can also control the use of their healthcare record and access is subject to consent.
Being an effective outcome of the Digital India Mission (July 1, 2015 ), ABHA provides the citizens of India 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 unique, trustable identity.
What is a digital health card?
The ABHA health locker secures our confidential medical records and share them with the concerned doctors whenever it is necessary. We can access it anywhere and anytime according to our requirements.
This digital health card has vital health information that allows the medical professionals to quickly and conveniently access treatment history and medical data.
The users can achieve a wide range of services including cashless treatment at exceptional hospitals.
What are Personal Health Records (PHR)?
Health ID is issued to the users after creating ABHA under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) for seamless management and sharing of medical records.
A Digital health card is an electronic version of health cards stored in a device or cloud which contains more comprehensive health information such as medical record and test results. Personal Health Records or PHR is a self declared username that is required to sign into the healthcare Information Exchange and Consent Manager(HE-CM).
This PHR address can be obtained in the ABHA section on Eka Care App. ABHA is applicable to everyone who is a citizen of India regardless of their socio-cultural identities. The ABHA health card can be obtained from the website https://healthid.ndhm.gov.in/
Steps in creation of ABHA card:
Creating ABHA card is really convenient and easy.
Step 1 : One has to visit the official website and click on ‘Create Abha Number’.
Step 2 : Then we are offered with the option to select either the aadhar card or driver’s licence for getting the access and click on ‘Next’.
Step 3 : The next step is reading the declaration very carefully. Skimming through it is not advisable since the user holds every right to have the knowledge of what they are providing to the Government.
Step 4 : After agreeing with the declaration, we
will be directed to a webpage asking for our One-Time-Passcode (OTP). Entering the OTP sent to the registered mobile number will further bring us to the last step.
Step 5 : Submit the application by clicking on ‘SUBMIT’.
Benefits and Perks:
Now, we have successfully created our ABHA identity card. Once we have created the account, we can easily access it by logging in with registered phone number and Date Of Birth. Once we get into our ABHA account, we can open our ABHA card and download it.
- Once you add your Aadhar details on the website, the account gets automatically linked to our Aadhar account.
- No additional documents are needed for the ABHA card.
- The most significant benefit is that now we don’t have to stand in long queues for filling out hospital admission forms. We can just share the health facility, our Ayushman Bharat Health Card.
- The doctors could access the complete health history of the existing diseases, previous treatment, medicines, discharge summary, tests and reports. This can help them to provide us with a better and timely treatment.
- Our Ayushman Bharat Health Card can also be used in availing AYUSH health services, benefits which include Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy.
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