The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is India's system for connecting patients, doctors and hospitals digitally. For a hospital, it means patients can link their records to a health ID and share them, with consent, wherever they are treated next.
The terms can be confusing. Here is what each one means, what your hospital software has to do, and a checklist to start with.
The four terms you need
Term | What it is | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
ABHA | A 14-digit health account number for each patient. | Patients |
HFR | Health Facility Registry, the national list of hospitals, clinics and labs. | Your hospital |
HPR | Healthcare Professionals Registry, the verified list of doctors and nurses. | Your doctors and staff |
Consent | The patient's permission, given in their ABHA app, before records are shared. | Patients |
The milestones, in plain words
Hospital software is approved for ABDM in stages called milestones. Each one adds something your system can do.
Milestone | What your software can do |
|---|---|
M1 | Create or verify a patient's ABHA at registration, including scan-and-share at the front desk. |
M2 | Link records like prescriptions, lab reports and discharge summaries to the ABHA, and share them when the patient consents. |
M3 | Request and view a patient's records from other hospitals, after they approve it. |
M4 | Handle insurance claims digitally through the National Health Claims Exchange. |
Records are shared in a standard format called FHIR, so any approved system can read them. Before going live, software goes through testing in an ABDM sandbox and a security audit.
Why it matters to your hospital
- Faster registration, because patients scan a QR code instead of filling forms.
- Better care, because doctors can see past records with the patient's permission.
- Fewer repeated tests when earlier reports are available.
- Readiness for insurance schemes and government programmes that ask for ABDM integration.
- Eligibility for the government's Digital Health Incentive Scheme, which pays facilities for digitally linked records. Check the current rates on the official DHIS site.
The checklist
Registrations
- Register each facility on HFR. A hospital with several branches needs one registration per branch.
- Get your doctors and key staff registered on HPR.
- Print and place the facility's scan-and-share QR code at every registration desk.
Software
- Ask your software provider which milestones they are approved for, and ask for proof.
- Check that ABHA numbers are saved against the patient record, not just typed at the desk.
- Make sure prescriptions, lab reports and discharge summaries are created digitally, not only printed.
- Confirm that all your systems, like the lab, pharmacy and billing, share one patient record.
People
- Train front-desk staff to create and verify ABHA in under two minutes.
- Explain consent to patients in simple words, in their language.
- Name one person responsible for ABDM on each shift.
Questions to ask any software vendor
- Which ABDM milestones is your software approved for today?
- How do you link records from our lab and pharmacy systems?
- What happens to records when a patient's consent expires?
- Who handles changes when ABDM updates its rules?
- Can you show it working at another hospital like ours?