Gauhati Medical College urges patients to carry Aadhaar Card for ABHA ID generation for treatment

Gauhati Medical College and Hospital has requested all visiting patients to carry their Aadhaar cards with them so that an Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) ID can be generated in this regard, which the Indian Government is trying to do digitally enable health care across the nation. 

This system of identification, as mandated by the National Medical Commission, is going to integrate patient records from all over the country at both public and private healthcare facilities. 

A one-time-done ABHA ID makes it easy for physicians to obtain patient history safely and instantly, which streamlines health care even when patients cannot access their previous history right away.

Dr. Achyut Baishya, principal of GMCH said, ABHA ID registration has now become one of the priorities at all the hospitals in the country as its guidelines reckon that NMC would only allow the OPD registrations registered through ABHA ID in the official record. 

"We are aligning with NMC's directive at GMCH and facilitating the creation of ABHA ID for our patients.". This brings about the advantage of making their records available for proper and lawful access by any authorized healthcare provider, no matter where they may go for their treatment later on, thereby streamlining their care process while reducing dependency on physical documents, Baishya explained.

The NMC has also made it a requirement that hospitals maintain OPD numbers with high statistics, towards which GMCH is especially working hard to register a target of as many as 1600 daily registrations. Baishya said he had been incurring a tough job meeting these figures because most patients report without their Aadhaar cards and lack ABHA IDs, which delays the making of the standardized record. In this current protocol, a chunk of the OPD registrations at GMCH remain incomplete, even though concerted efforts on the part of the hospital are taken to educate and assist the patients to obtain their ABHA IDs.

In addition to providing a possible solution to the problem of OPD registration, ABHA ID promotes quality care to patients as all health workers get the complete medical history of a patient irrespective of where they first received the treatment. This is crucial in reducing repeat testing that contributes to more accurate diagnostic processes and continued effective care of patients if they have been hospitalized and are transferred to another hospital. When a patient carries an ABHA ID, its medical record is instantly available to doctors across institutions. That makes it very useful when patients come here for follow-up treatment or are referred here to a specialized institution," Baishya said.

The hospital has also set up an on-site facilitation system to enroll patients without an ABHA ID into the scheme. The staff of the hospital assists patients in creating their ABHA ID through their Aadhaar details and most of the patients are welcoming the extra hand, however, those who have not enrolled for Aadhaar cards or refuse to register, the GMCH has ensured them that they will not be denied medical care. "Our prime focus is on patient care,,". We request everyone to carry their Aadhaar card for the ease of visit, but no one will be refused treatment if they do not have it with them, Baishya added, pointing out that ABHA ID registration though is encouraged is not something that is made mandatory for treatment at GMCH.

Though the Indian Centre has provided a mandate of digital health IDs to all of India, Assam health care facilities have been distressed for a complete imposition. This is because patients do not understand the process of ABHA ID and are reluctant to show their Aadhaar cards. GMCH is working at filling the gap by making patients and their families understand all the deliverables of digital health identification. Baishya's team feels hopeful that maximum number of patients will come to the institutes on their own with their Aadhaar cards as the awareness about the benefits of ABHA ID will rise. Then, registering will get even simpler and accurate.

The ABHA ID compliance in the GMCH has a very important institutional implication beyond convenience for the patient. Hospitals are liable to provide NMC and NHA records of ABHA ID-based data. In that way, it maintains the uniformity and transparency of data within the health scenario of India. As per the NMC, all the future requests that GMCH may make to the government for evaluation or report purposes are to be done purely on the basis of ABHA ID-based registrations. In case of the GMCH, all these measures of compliance are to be put in place through putting in place a Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) as advised by the NHA. However, the hospital has registered with the ABHA ID and their registration lacked full completion, which hasn't enabled them to attain a more general standard.

Electronic ID systems, as reflected by the ABHA ID, also hint towards a new face in India for health care delivery; they have laid much importance on electronic health records, which encompasses data about treatments, procedures, medications, and doctor's notes all into one database accessible throughout the country. When fully implemented, this system will benefit doctors in numerous ways-including avoiding duplication in tests that are diagnostic and additionally saving the time taken for assessing a patient's history-for doctors in GMCH and other hospitals, ABHA IDs will virtually render the time spent examining physical records to near zero, thereby allowing doctors to focus much needed attention toward ensuring smooth care.

However, feasibility of such a project depends on the cooperation of patients and also on the administrative capability of handling the added clerical burden on the part of hospitals like GMCH. According to Dr Baishya, even with support from the hospital staff, there are still challenges that abound. Since the policy was enforced very recently, many of the GMCH patients complained of not knowing what ABHA ID was and that they needed to come with Aadhaar cards because most of Assam is rural areas located a long distance from digital services. So, the GMCH assigned more man power to enable them to know what was required and help them through the process.

Looking ahead, GMCH would like to sustain the momentum of promoting ABHA ID registration. As OPD attendance rises, Baishya hopes this digitization of healthcare would eventually become the new order of things which patients gladly accept. For that purpose, the staff at GMCH frequently conduct awareness sessions in the hospital explaining long-term benefits of digital health records. The hospital will strive to provide a seamless patient experience while adhering to the OPD standards as prescribed by NMC along with other guidelines.

This is indeed a success story of the ABHA ID for GMCH and might go similarly in other hospitals of Assam since it will exemplify the EHR's success in making a health system connected.