The government is digitizing health data: How to apply for a national digital health card?

As part of the Ayushman Bharat digital mission, the Government of India has launched the Digital Health Card 2022 initiative. The health card is important because it allows people to store their medical records digitally at one place.

Government of India has started the process of digitizing medical records with Digital Health Card 2022. People have to register on Health ID portal where this feature is activated. In particular, the government says that health records will be the sole property of the individual, who will also have the ability to delete them at any time.

To register for a digital health card, citizens need to have an Aadhaar card or driving license, a mobile number linked to the Aadhaar card, a copy of the birth certificate and proof of address. In addition, people can apply for digital health card 2022 online using their Aadhaar card or driving license and then fill the digital health card registration form 2022. After that they can download the ABHA digital health card.

Here’s how to register for a digital health card:

STEP 1 Visit the Health ID portal (https://healthid.ndhm.gov.in/).

STEP 2 Select the create digital health card button at the top.

STEP 3 Click on Aadhar Card or Driving License and continue with Next button.

STEP 4 Enter Aadhaar Card Number or Driving License Number and proceed to next button.

STEP 5 Fill in complete details including name, address, phone number, one-time password received and any other required information. This would complete the profile.

STEP 6 Next, fill the online application form and a 14-digit digital health card (ABHA number) will be generated.

STEP 7 There will be an ABHA number generation notification and the health card can be downloaded from the website.

Authorities are trying to “incentivize” more private hospitals to join the government’s flagship health scheme Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, targeting a sector that has stayed away, saying the allowable charges are too low.

Currently, PMJAY has a network of 25,000 empaneled hospitals – both private and public – with 42% (11,000) share of private healthcare providers. They offer almost 2,000 medical procedures across 27 specialties.

Ayushman Bharat aims to cover over 100 million poor and vulnerable families or around 500 million individuals, providing coverage of up to ₹ five lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalizations.