NHA Mandates Speedy ABDM Verification for Hospitals

NHA recommended that state mission directors appoint at least two district verifiers and one district nodal officer in each district.

The National Health Authority (NHA) has instructed state mission directors (SMDs) to accelerate the verification process for hospitals listed on the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) platform.

Currently, 23,954 health facilities are awaiting verification for inclusion in the Health Facility Registry (HFR).

The states with the most significant number of health facilities pending verification are Maharashtra (5,351), Uttar Pradesh (5,212), Madhya Pradesh (1,964), Andhra Pradesh (1,868), and Rajasthan (1,840).

To expedite the verification process, the NHA has recommended that SMDs appoint at least two district verifiers (DV) and one district nodal officer (DNO) in each district.

"This measure is essential to ensure the registry is fully populated at the earliest," an NHA official communicated to the SMDs.

The HFR is a crucial component of the ABDM, the Center's flagship initiative aimed at creating a national digital health ecosystem.

It seeks to compile a comprehensive database of the country's health facilities across all systems of medicine.

To date, 310,345 healthcare facilities have been verified under the ABDM, including 122,260 private and 188,085 government centers.

"The goal is to establish a reliable national platform where patients can easily access details of registered health facilities across the country, thereby improving the discoverability of health facilities," the official added.

ABHA ID & DHIS Initiative

The ABDM also focuses on developing digital health IDs for citizens, known as Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs.

So far, 651,760,110 health IDs have been created to make medical records accessible to doctors within the ABDM network.

The Center has further extended the Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) by one year until June 30, 2025, to digitize patients' health records and link them with ABHA IDs.

Hospitals receive INR 20 per patient for digitizing health records and linking them with ABHA IDs.

Recently, Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda reviewed the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) and ABDM with NHA officials in Delhi. NHA CEO Deepti Gaur Mukherjee presented the schemes' features, status, and operations.

The review highlighted PMJAY's significant milestones, including issuing 34.7 Cr Ayushman Cards and 7.35 Cr hospital admissions, totaling over INR 1 Lakh Cr. Plans to strengthen the network of empaneled hospitals and enhance engagement were also discussed.