Private hospitals have to provide services to patients using their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs as per the norms prescribed by the National Medical Commission (NMC), says Health Secretary G. Veerapandian.

At present, government hospitals, government teaching hospitals, and a few private hospitals are offering services to the public as per the NMC norms through the ABHA cards, but private colleges are yet to do so.

Attending a workshop at Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS) in Vijayawada on Wednesday, Mr. Veerapandian said 5.04 crore ABHA accounts had been generated in the State as of date.

“When services are offered using the ABHA IDs, electronic health records (EHRs) are created, which contain patients’ details,” Mr. Veerapandian said. Regardless of how many times a patient visits a hospital, the relevant health information could be recorded in the patient’s EHR, he added.

Health and Family Welfare Commissioner K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu said if private medical colleges use the Health Management Information System (HMIS) integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), patients’ health information would become immediately accessible. This would enable doctors to quickly understand a patient’s medical history and make treatment easier, he said.

Mr. Chakradhar Babu urged the private medical colleges to participate in creating EHRs through the ABHA IDs and assured them of all technical support.

NTRUHS Vice-Chancellor P. Chandrasekhar, Registrar T. Sai Sudheer, and ABDM State Nodal Officer B.V. Rao were among those who attended the workshop.

Published - August 12, 2026 07:21 pm IST