New Delhi: Over 25 crore health records of individuals have been linked digitally to Ayushman Bharat health account under the National Health Authority’s flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.

These records can be easily accessed and managed by people using any of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) enabled health applications.

The digitally available health records will enable the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) holders in availing paper-less health services across the ABDM network, a statement by the National Health Authority (NHA) said on Tuesday.

Individuals can use their Personal Health Records (PHR) apps to access their records across different health facilities like hospitals, clinics, diagnostic labs, among others, and store them in the app.

They can also digitally share the relevant records with verified healthcare providers over the ABDM network.

This enables completely paper-less exchange of records in a secure manner while doing away with the hassles of searching for physical medical documents or worry of losing old records.

The healthcare providers get consented access to detailed patient history, thereby helping them in better clinical decision making.

Speaking on the milestone, the National Health Authority said digitisation of physical records is crucial to the objective of building an inter-operable and accessible healthcare ecosystem.

“The speed at which health records are being made more accessible via ABHA linking indicates the sincerity of all stakeholders as well as the robustness and scalability of the underlying technology. The objective of ABDM can be achieved with collaborative efforts from majority stakeholders that benefit the end patients,” it said.

Elaborating further on the importance of ABHA-linked health records, the NHA said patients are empowered with ready access to their records and the choice of sharing selected records.