ABDM for hospitals: ABHA, HFR, HPR and health records explained

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is India's national digital-health programme. It lets patients keep their health records and share them with any hospital, with consent. Here is what it means for your hospital, in plain words.

The building blocks

  • ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account): a patient's health ID — a 14-digit ABHA number and an ABHA address (like name@abdm) used to link and share records.
  • HFR (Health Facility Registry): the national registry of hospitals, clinics, labs and pharmacies. Your facility registers here.
  • HPR (Healthcare Professionals Registry): the registry of doctors, nurses and other professionals.
  • Consent manager: the patient approves who can see which records and for how long.
  • HIP and HIU: a Health Information Provider creates and shares records; a Health Information User requests them with consent. A hospital is usually both.

What changes at your reception

With ABDM, registration can be faster: a patient can create or verify an ABHA at the counter, or use Scan & Share — scanning your facility's QR code so their details reach your registration desk. Your software then links the patient's ABHA to their hospital record.

Care contexts and record sharing

Each visit — an OPD consultation, an admission, a lab order — is a care context. When it is linked to the patient's ABHA, records from that visit (prescription, lab report, discharge summary, bill) can be shared with the patient's PHR app or another hospital, always with the patient's consent. Records are exchanged in a standard format (FHIR) and encrypted.

What your hospital software must do

  • Create and verify ABHA at registration, and link it to the patient record.
  • Create care contexts for OPD, IPD and lab visits and link them.
  • Share records in the ABDM format when the patient consents.
  • Request records from other providers with consent (when your doctors need history).
  • Keep consent, expiry and erasure rules — received records are removed when the consent period ends.

Getting started

  • Register your facility on HFR and your doctors on HPR.
  • Use ABDM-ready software (The Health App includes ABHA linking and record sharing).
  • Train reception on ABHA creation and Scan & Share.
  • Check the National Health Authority's current guidance and any incentive schemes your facility may qualify for.

Is ABHA mandatory for patients?

Patients choose whether to create or share an ABHA; hospitals should offer it and link it when the patient agrees.

Does ABDM store patient records centrally?

No. Records stay with the hospitals that created them and are shared only with the patient's consent.

Book a free demo: call or WhatsApp +91-9006146183 or email info@thehealthapp.in.

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