Ahyushman Bharat heallth a/cs reach 25-crore milestone

The subscriber base of Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) has touched the milestone of 25 crore, giving a major push to the government’s efforts to digitise the health infrastructure.

ABHA subscribers are being given a Health Card with a unique identity number, to link all healthcare benefits, ranging from public health programmes to insurance schemes and the ABHA number.

“We have received an encouraging response, with the subscriber base touching 25 crore and campaigns being run through various modes, including FM radio, to further popularise ABHA,” a senior official told BusinessLine.

ABHA is part of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), which aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. It will bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.

Apart from a `trustable’ unique identity, the ABHA ID card provides unified benefits, hassle-free access to healthcare facilities across the country, and a seamless sign-up for Personal Health Records (PHR) applications such as ABDM ABHA application for health data storage and sharing.

“This helps create a record of one’s own health, including the diagnostic reports and other data in a secure way in a mobile app. We find increasing traction on use of PHR applications among subscribers,” the official said.

The process of issuing Ayushman cards under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PM-JAY) to account holders is also being hastened. While over 6 lakh cards are being issued per day, it will be increased to 10 lakh cards per day shortly. As of now, over 20 crore cards been issued, the official said.