Centre push for wider adoption of ABHA accounts

Central government is pushing for digitally driven health care specifically focusing on wider adoption and saturation of Ayushman Bharat Health Account address, according to the discussions held amongst various stakeholders at the Union ministry of health and family welfare’s day-long Arogya Manthan on Friday.

ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) address is a unique identifier (self declared username) that enables users to share and access their health records digitally.

ABHA number is a 14 digit number that will uniquely identify you as a participant in India’s digital healthcare ecosystem. It will establish a strong and trustable identity for you that will be accepted by healthcare providers and payers across the country, according to the health ministry.

“While we are talking about One Nation and One Health, adoption of one health records, with citizen consent and appropriate safeguards is equally crucial,” said Dr M Srinivas, member (health) Niti Aayog.

Highlighting the importance of achieving wider adoption and saturation of ABHA and strengthening interoperability of digital health records, Srinivas stressed that high-quality, standardised and interoperable health data would be critical for advancing health research and responsibly leveraging Artificial Intelligence in healthcare.

Under Ayuhsman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), at least 97.8 crore ABHAs have been created, with over 121 crore health records linked, while more than 5.6 lakh health facilities and around 11 lakh healthcare professionals are registered on the ABDM ecosystem.

“Adoption and saturation of ABHA ids is one of the things that needs our immediate focus, going forward, along with strengthening continuity of care, quality and patient-centric healthcare, including seamless referral mechanisms for patients requiring specialised treatment, under Ayuhsman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna. (AB-Pmjay),” said Dr Srinivas.

A major highlight of Arogya Manthan 2026 was the launch of a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening the digital foundations of India’s health assurance ecosystem. These included the National Healthcare Providers Registry (NHPR) Mobile App, NHCX Implementation Guide for Payers, and Secure Data Environment (SDE) application.

The Secure Data Environment, developed by the National Health Authority (NHA) with the support of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is envisaged as a governed environment for access to and analysis of AB PM-JAY and ABDM health data, said the health ministry.

Approved entities will be able to work with de-identified data or execute code within an isolated NHA environment, with outputs reviewed before release. The initiative is intended to facilitate health research, programme planning, outcome analysis and responsible AI innovation, while incorporating safeguards for protection of personal data, it added.

The deliberations at Arogya Manthan 2026 focused on strengthening the efficiency, quality and interoperability of health services.

“The session on “NHCX for Streamlining Health Insurance” examined the role of the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) in enabling streamlined, standardised and technology-driven health insurance processes, including how interoperable digital claims infrastructure can improve efficiency, strengthen coordination across the health insurance ecosystem, and open new avenues of health financing,” said health ministry.

Referring to the initiatives launched at Aarogya Manthan, Union health minister JP Nadda said that these would further strengthen digital healthcare, facilitate the secure use of health data and create new opportunities for health research, innovation and data-driven decision-making.

He said that the journey of AB-Pmjay and ABDM has demonstrated the transformative role of technology in healthcare, with digital systems supporting authentication, authorisation and access to treatment across locations.

Nadda emphasised that the journey must continue. “There is a need for sustained efforts to leverage digital technology to make healthcare more accessible, efficient and patient-centric. I am sure that the deliberations at Aarogya Manthan 2026 would generate actionable outcomes and contribute further towards strengthening India’s health ecosystem and serving humanity,” said the health minister.