What is the Use of ABHA Health Card?

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare introduced the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) program via videoconferencing on September 27th 2021. ABDM is primarily concerned with laying the groundwork and managing the Indian healthcare system. Under this program, one of the main components involves the Ayushman Bharat Health Account, aka ABHA.

Generally, ABHA provides you with a health card that holds a unique identification number. Anybody who holds the ABHA card can have easy access to healthcare facilities and medical treatments all around the country. Having said that, let's look into the details and benefits of ABHA card uses. But first, let's begin with the basics.

What is Ayushman Bharat Health Insurance Plan?

Simply put, Ayushman Bharat is a healthcare scheme that offers up to INR 5 lakhs of health insurance to the beneficiary family. Available as a family floater benefit, any member of the eligible family can get coverage up to the sum insured throughout the year. The treatment can be taken at a government hospital or any empanelled hospital. With the scheme in place, about 40% of Indians who are economically weak will be covered.1 As of September 2023, more than 600 million families with an annual income of less than INR 2.5 lakhs have been issued Ayushman Bharat cards.

What is an ABHA Card?

ABHA card, or the ABHA health card, is a healthcare ID card. It is offered by the Indian Government to the eligible citizens. The card has a unique identification number of 14 digits  to identify you as an active participant in India’s digital healthcare ecosystem. This number will establish a strong and legitimate identity for you that will be accepted by all healthcare providers across India.

With your ABHA card, you can maintain and safely keep all your medical history. The digital card will contain information on your past medical reports. As your data is available on a single platform, you as well as your doctor, can access it without the hassle of maintaining extensive paperwork.

Now, the ABHA health card is your ID card that features a distinctive identification number with 14 digits. Indian citizens who possess an Aadhaar Card or a Driving License can enrol under the ABDM and easily generate their ABHA card online. The registration process is quite simple and straightforward. Simply put, with only a few clicks, you can register under ABDM and create your ABHA card online if you are an Indian citizen.

Below is an example of what an ABHA card typically looks like.

What is the Use of ABHA Health Card?

Moving forward, it is important to understand the ABHA card usage and why you should get one for yourself. An ABHA card is used for a variety of purposes. However, the most important benefit is that it stores all of your medical records and reports digitally on one platform, i.e., with your Ayushman Bharat Health Account. Listed below are five reasons why you must create an ABHA card.

• Get digitalised medical records stored in one location. With this card, you can easily access them and relieve yourself from the burden of searching for your medical records and carrying them to every appointment.
• You can also generate an ABHA card for a child. It will help you maintain a strong medical history of your child since their birth. 
• With this, you can avoid the long queues for registration in each healthcare facility in the country.
• The ABHA number can be linked to various healthcare benefits, including public health insurance schemes.. 
• You can sign up for Personal Health Records applications seamlessly, like the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission ABHA application, to share health data.

Who Should Create an ABHA Card?

Any Indian citizen can create an ABHA account. Consequently, each participant can get plenty of benefits with the use of an ABHA card. Regardless of whether you're looking for immediate assistance, planning for future benefits, adopting digital innovation, or taking advantage of an integrated hospital experience, you can enjoy a myriad of healthcare advantages by being a part of India’s digital healthcare ecosystem.

>> Also Read: What Are Digital Health Insurance Cards?

ABHA Card: How to Use?

If you are thinking about the uses of ABHA health card, this is it. You can use the ABHA card to establish your identity with healthcare providers in the country. Furthermore, you can use your card to streamline certain procedures related to choosing medical services. Listed below are a few ABHA health card uses.

• If you wish to access the Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR), which is the database of licensed doctors, you can make use of the ABHA health card. The registry will help you easily obtain a list of data and information related to all the doctors in the country. 
• With ABHA health card use, you can search for complementary and alternative medical services, like yoga, naturopathy, and Ayurveda. 
• You can also share access to your medical records with your healthcare providers and hospitals with your ABHA health card.
• You can have all of your medical records, including prescription drugs, test results, and diagnostic information, stored in one place.
• You can consult with specialists and healthcare professionals registered under ABDM to receive quality treatment right from your home.

Summing Up

To sum up, it is advisable to register yourself and your family under ABDM to receive prompt, high-quality healthcare. Additionally, you don't have to worry about losing your medical data because you can maintain it all in one location with the help of this digital health ID.

All you have to do to share access to your medical details with your doctor during a consultation is to provide them with your ABHA card number. If you are looking for more ways to get affordable health insurance coverage, you might want to consider buying a health insurance policy that provides comprehensive financial support during critical times. Care Health Insurance offers exceptional coverage for your medical costs. Get in touch with our insurance experts to know more about various plans.

Disclaimers: All plan features, benefits, coverage, and claims underwriting are subject to policy terms and conditions. Kindly refer to the brochure, sales prospectus, and policy documents carefully.