Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission: Here's 14-digit Health ID in a nutshell

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, under which a digital Health ID containing health records will be given to every Indian. The poor and the middle class are expected to benefit the most from the initiative.

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, launched on August 15, is being implemented in a pilot phase in six states and Union Territories. More than 1 lakh health IDs – a unique 14-digit health identification number- have already been created under it. PM Modi pointed out that India has nearly 130 crore Aadhaar users, 118 crore mobile subscribers, 43 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts, and such a connected infrastructure can be found nowhere else in the world.

“Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will now help connect digital health solutions across the country. All Indians will get a digital health ID under this scheme. Every citizen’s health record will now be digitally secure,” the PM said, underlining that “digitisation will make healthcare easier”.

The nationwide roll-out of the Mission coincides with the National Health Authority celebrating the third anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. “This Mission will create interoperability within the digital health ecosystem, similar to the role played by the Unified Payments Interface in revolutionising payments,” the PMO said.

How does the Health ID work?

• The Health ID is created by using a person’s basic details and mobile number or Aadhaar number. Their health records are then linked to it and can be viewed via a mobile application, a Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR), and Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR).
• As part of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, the health ID works like a health account, and act as a repository of all healthcare providers across both modern and traditional systems of medicine.
• The Health ID will contain details of every test, disease, diagnosis and medicine taken by the holder. It will record the doctors visited, and the information will be easy to carry and remember.
• The Health ID is free of cost and voluntary. For the government, the benefit of the ID lies in analysing and using health data to better plan and budget health programmes, while cutting down on costs.
• Citizens will only be a click-away from accessing healthcare facilities, and the Health ID will ensure ease of business for doctors, hospitals and healthcare service providers.
• The Health ID will standardise the process of identification of an individual across healthcare providers, serving as an “electronic medical record.” It will allow access and exchange of health records of the individual holder with their consent.

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