ABHA Application under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

In News

• Recently, the National Health Authority has launched revamped Ayushman Bharat Health Account, ABHA mobile application to manage health records under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. 

About ABHA app 

• It was previously known as the National Digital Health Mission’ Health Records app.
• The ABHA mobile application enables an individual to create an ABHA address, an easy-to-remember username that can be linked with the 14-digit randomly generated ABHA number.
  • The updated version of the ABHA app has a new User Interface and added functionalities that enable individuals to access their health records anytime and anywhere.
• The mobile application also enables users to link their health records created at Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission compliant health facility and view them on their smartphones.
• The sharing of digital health records is only permitted with the individual’s consent, which might be permanent, temporary, or time-bound.
  • This data can be anonymised and used for research and epidemiological analysis.

Significance of the application

• It is to tilt the focus of the healthcare sector towards digitisation.
• The application also allows self-uploading of physical health records.
• The ABHA app will be instrumental in helping citizens create their longitudinal health records.
• It will enable them to save their health history on a single platform and access or share their health records anytime and anywhere without the worry of losing them.
• ABHA is also aimed at increasing citizen participation.
• The platform will give ready access to health data to doctors, services, and healthcare providers to people from anywhere in the country.

National Digital Health Mission 

• About:
  • It is based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government.
• Key components of the project:
  • Digital health ID:  A repository of all health-related information of a person, such as medical tests, previous prescriptions, diagnosis, treatments etc. It can be created voluntarily, free of cost by every Indian citizen.
  • Health Facility Registry (HFR): A single repository of all the health facilities (both public and private) in the country.
  • Personal Health Records (PHR):  An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that can be drawn from multiple sources.
  • Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Sandbox:  This will act as a framework for technology and product testing that will help organisations, including private players, intending to be a part of the National Digital Health Ecosystem become a health information provider or a health information user.  
  • Implementing agency: National Health Authority (NHA)

Potential/ Benefits of this mission

• It will ensure ease of doing business for doctors & hospitals and healthcare service providers.
• It will also provide a holistic and inclusive health model and easy, affordable and accessible treatment.
• It will create interoperability within the digital health ecosystem, similar to the role played by the Unified Payments Interface in revolutionising payments i.e. Citizens will only be a click away from accessing healthcare facilities.
• Enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent.
• Effective implementation of schemes and policies of the government.
• Boost to Medical tourism.

Limitations/Concerns

• Digital Divide: This could lead to exclusion of digitally illiterate and unconnected remote, hilly and tribal areas. 
• Data Breach/Privacy issues: The lack of a data protection bill could lead to the misuse of data by private firms.
• Huge requirement of skilled labours: Need for skilled manpower in the digital domain that verses with latest computer skills.
• Inadequate Primary Health Care data: Lack of infrastructure and staff at primary level.
• Issue of interoperability of systems built by different states & the central repositories.

Way forward

• India’s digital healthcare space has a lot of room for growth and improvement.
• ABHA is a push in the right direction: Although complete health digitisation in India will probably take decades, it will be interesting to see how ABHA can hasten the revolution.
• Data protection measures will have to be robust to preserve personal information.
• It should be made transparent and easy to understand for the public.

Source: AIR