How important is quick access to a family member’s health records to you during an emergency? It’s crucial for effective medical treatment, right? Yet in India, this remains a challenge, especially for outpatient care. While larger hospitals have adopted digital in-patient records, most outpatient data is still stored in physical form.
This often leads to mismanagement by patients, resulting in lost, damaged or incomplete information shared with the doctor. And when the doctor struggles to provide optimal care, the problem becomes even more critical during emergencies or complex medical situations. The ideal scenario for doctors is to have all patient health information readily available and digital records offer a perfect solution.
Moreover, managing them digitally is not only smarter but also more efficient. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to tackle this issue. By focusing on digital health records, ABDM seeks to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare in India. This initiative brings together various healthcare stakeholders in a digital ecosystem, allowing for seamless health data flow. In simple words, the ABDM operates similarly to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Just as UPI enables seamless money transfers between different banks, the ABDM facilitates the transfer of health information between healthcare entities, with the patient's consent.
Every individual is assigned a unique Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number, under which all health records are maintained. This system ensures that health data is consistently and reliably stored, easily retrievable and shareable across different healthcare providers. Under the ABDM, health records can easily be accessed by any doctor or hospital across India, provided the patient grants permission. This can help address the current problem of inaccessible digital health records, ensuring that health information is always available to healthcare providers. Ultimately, the initiative will improve the healthcare experience for both patients and doctors, making health records readily available and easy to manage.
