Department of Health reaches agreement with Edelweiss General Insurance to create digital health IDs

The Department of Health partnered with digital insurer Edelweiss General Insurance on Tuesday to help create digital health IDs as part of the Ayushman Bharat digital mission. Digital Health Identification Number or ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) is a 14-digit number that helps users digitally share and access their health records with registered healthcare providers.

The company said all of its customers and the general public can now generate their unique ABHA number through its website www.edelweissinsurance.com. One would have to log into the website and follow the instructions on the ABHA microsite and have the health ID within minutes. Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) can be generated for citizens of all age groups, after KYC verification, he added.

Interestingly, new customers of the insurance company will be asked to obtain their ABHA at the time of policy issuance. EGI said it is also contacting all of its existing customers and encouraging them to get their ABHA numbers.

“Ayushman Bharat is creating a digital health stack for India that will have a transformational impact on the healthcare delivery system in the country. This program will enable and empower the people of this country to access medical diagnosis, to treatment and funding of verified healthcare providers and payers, seamlessly across the country,” said Shanai Ghosh, Executive Director and CEO, Edelweiss General Insurance.

Through ABHA, users can create their digital health records. Although optional, having an ABHA number allows one to digitally access and share their personal health records, enabling them to receive their digital lab reports, diagnoses, prescriptions, etc., from ABDM-registered healthcare providers and physicians across the country. paperless way.

The National Health Authority (NHA) is the apex body responsible for implementing this program under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. Earlier in May, the Ministry of Health launched a revamped Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) mobile app as part of its flagship Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission program. According to data available from the ministry, a total of 22,97,64,327 ABHA numbers have been created till July 15, 2022.

The government’s objective in launching the ABDM was to establish a national digital health ecosystem by creating an online platform, enabling the interoperability of health data to create a longitudinal electronic health record (EHR) of citizens.

There are three key registries under ABDM which are ABHA/Health ID Number, Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR), Healthcare Facility Registry (HFR) and Digital Infrastructure for Data Exchange. The government said these were created to enable data interoperability across digital health platforms.

Maria J. Book