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Digital Health · ABDM

Digital Health · ABDM

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is building India's digital health backbone — a unique 14-digit ABHA health ID that lets citizens store and share their medical records securely across hospitals and clinics. Since 2021, about 80 crore ABHA IDs have been created, linking millions of health records and paving the way for telemedicine and AI-driven care. The counter shows ABHA IDs created.

When the bubonic plague struck Bombay in the 1890s, postcards were used, in part, by the business community to communicate that all was okay
When the bubonic plague struck Bombay in the 1890s, postcards were used, in part, by the business community to communicate that all was okay · Paper Jewels · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
80 cr
ABHA health IDs
6.7 cr
Health records linked
2021
ABDM launched
ABHA health IDs
ABHA health IDs
YearABHA health IDs
20215 crore
202220 crore
202340 crore
202466 crore
202580 crore
2021
0crore
ABHA health IDs
20212025
Since 2021
Added
+75 crore
2021
5 crore
2025
80 crore

Why it matters Portable digital health records mean no lost files, less duplication, easier referrals and the foundation for modern, data-driven, nationwide healthcare.

  • ~80 crore ABHA health IDs created (from 2021)
  • Part of Ayushman Bharat; 6.7+ cr records linked
  • Source: National Health Authority
Several women and children sit in the children’s ward of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, during First Lady
Several women and children sit in the children’s ward of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, during First Lady · Cecil Stoughton · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Reena Lanba, President Navy Wives Welfare Association visited Army Hospital (Research Referral) to lend her support to 'Prerna'. Prerna - an
Reena Lanba, President Navy Wives Welfare Association visited Army Hospital (Research Referral) to lend her support to 'Prerna'. Prerna - an · Indian Navy · GODL-India · Wikimedia Commons
Reena Lanba, President Navy Wives Welfare Association visited Army Hospital (Research Referral) to lend her support to 'Prerna'. Prerna - an
Reena Lanba, President Navy Wives Welfare Association visited Army Hospital (Research Referral) to lend her support to 'Prerna'. Prerna - an · Indian Navy · GODL-India · Wikimedia Commons
Reena Lanba, President Navy Wives Welfare Association visited Army Hospital (Research Referral) to lend her support to 'Prerna'. Prerna - an
Reena Lanba, President Navy Wives Welfare Association visited Army Hospital (Research Referral) to lend her support to 'Prerna'. Prerna - an · Indian Navy · GODL-India · Wikimedia Commons

History

Indian health records were scattered across paper files and disconnected systems. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (2021) set out to build a unified digital health backbone, starting with a unique ABHA health ID for every citizen.

A health ID for all

About 80 crore ABHA IDs have been created — a 14-digit number that links your lab reports, prescriptions and records across hospitals. It underpins telemedicine (eSanjeevani), digital claims, and a future of AI-assisted, data-driven care.

How it works

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to do for health what UPI did for payments — build open rails, not one app. Every citizen can get an ABHA (health account) ID that links their medical records; registries list verified doctors and hospitals; and — crucially — records are shared only with the patient's consent. The goal is that a patient's history, prescriptions and test reports follow them digitally from one hospital to another.

Outlook

Over 70 crore ABHA health IDs have been created — but creating IDs is the easy part. The next step is making them genuinely useful: getting hospitals, labs and clinics to actually upload records so a patient's history is complete and portable, protecting that sensitive data under the new privacy law, and linking the system to Ayushman Bharat insurance and telemedicine — so digital health reaches beyond big-city hospitals.

The road ahead

Creating IDs is the easy part — the next step is getting hospitals to link and share records at scale, with strong privacy and data-security as sensitive health data goes digital.

By the numbers

~80 crore ABHA IDs; 6.7+ crore records linked; part of Ayushman Bharat; launched 2021. Source: National Health Authority.

Source: National Health Authority — ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) IDs created (crore), 2021–2025.