The ABHA card, or Ayushman Bharat Health Account, is a digital health ID and a core component of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), a scheme launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in September 2021. The mission's goal is to create a digital backbone for India's integrated health infrastructure, solving the problem of fragmented and paper-based medical records.
The ABHA card is essentially a unique 14-digit identification number, the ABHA ID, which acts as a central repository for an individual's medical history, including prescriptions, lab results, and hospitalizations. The key mechanism is consent-driven data sharing, ensuring that a person's health information is shared with healthcare providers only with their explicit approval, which can be revoked at any time. Users can also create an ABHA address (a self-declared username like xyz@abdm) to facilitate the exchange of health data.
The scheme is managed by the National Health Authority (NHA) and connects to the Health Facility Registry (HFR) and the Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR), linking patients, doctors, and facilities across the country. While the ABHA card itself does not provide financial coverage, it can be linked to health insurance schemes and public health programs, including the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). Since its launch in 2021, the fundamental concept of the ABHA ID as a secure, voluntary, and consent-based digital health locker has remained the same.