Tamil Nadu has stepped up the creation of Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA), with 2.54 crore accounts created so far.

It is now being integrated with the State’s Health Management Information System 3.0 (HMIS 3.0) across government health institutions.

ABHA, a 14-digit unique health identifier created using an Aadhaar number, is a key feature of the Union government’s Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), launched in 2021, enabling a digital health records ecosystem.

Over the years, government health facilities, including primary health centres, have been creating ABHA for patients. The initiative has gathered pace with HMIS 3.0 being ABHA-compliant. HMIS 3.0 is an upgraded digital system with features designed to streamline healthcare processes, improve data accuracy, and ensure seamless integration across all government healthcare facilities.

“Tamil Nadu has a population of eight crore people. Nearly half of them rely on government hospitals. We want to create ABHA IDs for at least 50% of the population, as a first step. We are making efforts to create visibility among persons visiting government hospitals, including through ‘May I Help You’ desks. This initiative has not been expanded to government headquarters hospitals. So, we are taking measures to take up the process at both headquarters hospitals and medical college hospitals,” an official said.

Officials said ABHA has uses for doctors, patients, and policymakers. It enables the creation of digital health records, reducing dependence on physical medical records. Under the system, ABDM-enabled hospitals can upload patients’ medical records, including doctors’ prescriptions, laboratory reports, and diagnostic images such as CT scans. Using their ABHA, patients can access these records digitally using a personal health record (PHR) application on their mobile phone. If they visit any other hospital (ABDM-enabled facility), the doctors can view the records with the patient’s consent on a PHR app. This helps ensure continuity of care, officials said.

Creation of ABHA is based on consent. There are a number of ways to create the account, including OTP and biometric authentication. ABHA is a secure and interoperable digital health account that allows individuals to access their health records easily, officials said.

A government doctor at a medical college hospital said digital health was good in this technology-driven era, but certain factors needed to be looked into. “Issues such as privacy breach and data theft need to be monitored,” he said.

Doctors also emphasised the need for all hospitals to get the required infrastructure such as computers, WiFi connectivity, and adequate manpower for HMIS and ABHA integration.