Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

Why in the News?

The National Health Authority has announced the integration of its flagship Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission with the Aarogya Setu app, allowing users to create the 14-digit unique Ayushman Bharat Health Account numbers from the app.

Probable Question

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is visionary and can be the much-needed digital intervention to improve healthcare access in India. What can be the key challenges in proper implementation of this scheme?

About Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

• Aim: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is aimed at improving equitable access to quality healthcare by encouraging the use of technologies such as telemedicine and enabling national portability of health services.
• It will create a seamline online platform through the provision of a wide range of data, information and infrastructure services. 

Key Features

• Digital Health ID: Under the ABDM, citizens will be able to create their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) numbers, to which their digital health records can be linked. 

• A unique health ID will be a randomly generated 14-digit identification number. 
• The Health ID will give the user unique identification, authentication and will be a repository of all health records of a person.
• As on 24th February 2022, 17,33,69,087 Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts have been created and 10,114 doctors and 17,319 health facilities have been registered in ABDM.

• Personal Health Records (PHR) address: The beneficiary will also set up a Personal Health Records (PHR) address for the issue of consent, and for future sharing of health records.
• Easy Access to Health History: Under the mission, users can access and link personal records with their unique ID to create a longitudinal health history.
•  Creation of Digital Ecosystem: The Mission will create a Digital Ecosystem which will provide a host of facilities like digital consultation, consent of patients in letting medical practitioners access their records.
• Implementation: The National Health Authority (NHA) will be the implementing agency of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

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Significance

• It will bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of the Healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.
• It will enable individuals to discover hospitals, laboratories and pharmacies across the country.
• It will “increase the ease of living” along with “simplifying the procedures in hospitals”.
• ABDM will not only facilitate effective public health interventions but will also catalyse innovation and generate more jobs.

Challenges

• There are several concerns regarding health IDs, especially with data stored at a central location.
• The lack of a data protection bill could lead to the misuse of data by private firms and bad actors. 
• Although ABHA is presently voluntary, there are high chances that it will be made mandatory for accessing some services, similar to the trajectory of Aadhaar. This may lead to Exclusion of citizens and denied healthcare.

Conclusion

• Digital health solutions across the healthcare ecosystem have proven to be of immense benefit over the years, with CoWIN, Arogya Setu and eSanjeevani further demonstrating the role that the technology can play in enabling access to healthcare. 
• However, there is a need to integrate such solutions for continuum of care, and effective utilization of resources.

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