Understanding ABHA: India's Digital Health ID

What is ABHA?

ABHA stands for Ayushman Bharat Health Account. It's a 14-digit unique health identifier issued by the National Health Authority (NHA) of India. Think of it as your Aadhaar number — but exclusively for healthcare.

Why Should Patients Create an ABHA?

• One place for all health records: prescriptions, lab reports, discharge summaries
• Share records instantly with any doctor across India
• No more carrying physical files or forgetting medication history
• Required for accessing government health schemes like PM-JAY

How to Create an ABHA

Patients can create an ABHA using:

1. Aadhaar-based: Fastest — uses OTP sent to the mobile number linked with Aadhaar. Results in a verified, "gold" ABHA.
2. Driving Licence-based: For patients without Aadhaar. Creates a "silver" ABHA pending later verification.
3. At clinic: Reception staff can help patients create ABHA directly through VaidyaOne — no separate app needed.

ABHA Address vs ABHA Number

The 14-digit ABHA Number (like "91-12345678-0000-0000") is the permanent ID. The ABHA Address (like "priya.sharma@abdm") is a memorable handle that can be changed and is used for record sharing. Clinics should store both.

Privacy and Consent

Patients always control who sees their records. A doctor or hospital can only access your ABHA records if you grant them explicit consent via the ABHA app or the clinic's consent flow. Consent can be revoked at any time.

How VaidyaOne Uses ABHA

When a patient checks in at a VaidyaOne-powered clinic, staff can scan the patient's ABHA QR code to instantly pull up their demographic details and, with consent, their health history from other providers.