Introduction: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has mandated the linking of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) beneficiary ID with the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) ID, effective from April 1, 2024. This initiative aims to create digital health identification for CGHS beneficiaries and store their digital health records.
Mandatory Linking:
- Timeline: All existing CGHS beneficiaries must complete the linking process within 30 days.
- Objective: To enhance digital health identification and streamline the storage of health records.
About CGHS:
- Establishment: Started in 1954.
- Objective: Provides comprehensive health care to Central Government employees, pensioners, and their dependent family members.
- Coverage: Approximately 42 lakh beneficiaries across 80 cities.
- Healthcare Offered: Includes allopathic, homoeopathic, ayurveda, unani, siddha, and yoga treatments.
About ABHA:
- Launch: Part of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) under the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) in 2021.
- Digital Health ID: The Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) provides a unique health identifier, a random 14-digit number, which can be issued digitally or as a hard copy.
- Objective: Develop a platform enabling interoperability of health data to create longitudinal Electronic Health Records (EHR) for every citizen.
- Current Statistics: As of January 24, 2024, a total of 52,50,15,110 ABHA numbers have been created.
Conclusion: The MoHFW’s mandate to link CGHS beneficiary IDs with ABHA IDs is a significant step towards digitizing health records and improving healthcare services for CGHS beneficiaries through enhanced digital identification and record-keeping.
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