New Delhi: The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri – Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) has crossed the milestone of 30 crore Ayushman cards, said an official release on Sunday (January 14). The AB-PMJAY, being implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA), aims to provide a health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 12 crore beneficiary families.
The Health Ministry said Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states with the highest number of Ayushman cards at 4.83 crore, followed by Madhya Pradesh 3.78 crore and Maharashtra 2.39 crore.
As of January 12, eleven states have more than one crore Ayushman card holders.
Also Read: Transgenders To Get Holistic Health Services Under Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
Ayushman card creation is the most fundamental activity under the scheme and concerted efforts are being continuously made to ensure that every beneficiary has it, the ministry said, adding,
As a result of the persistent efforts, the scheme has reached the feat of 30 crore Ayushman cards created. More than 16.7 crore Ayushman cards have been created during the last two financial years.
The ministry stated,
During 2023-24, more than 7.5 crore Ayushman cards have been created. This implies that approximately 181 Ayushman cards are created every minute.
Also Read: Haryana Government To Run Ayushman Bhav Campaign From September 1 To December 31
Ayushman card creation is included in on-spot services being offered during the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra launched on November 15 last year with the intent to ensure coverage saturation of different schemes of the Government of India.
This campaign has significantly helped expedite card creation at the grassroots level. More than 2.43 crore Ayushman cards have been created during the yatra. Further, more than 5.6 crore Ayushman cards (launched on September 17, 2023) have been created during the Ayushman Bhava campaign launched by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to achieve saturation of different health schemes.
The NHA has also launched ‘Ayushman App’ for generating beneficiary card. The app has a unique feature of self-verification. In simple 4 steps, this feature enables users to create Ayushman Card using an android mobile phone. Further, any person can help beneficiaries to create Ayushman card. Thus, the Ayushman App enables Jan Bhagidari in its spirit. The success of this application can be measured from the fact that the app has been downloaded for more than 52 lakh times since its launch on September 13 last year.
Further, approximately 14.6 crore Ayushman cards have been created for women. The ministry stated,
The scheme is striving to achieve gender parity along with regional parity and income parity in access to healthcare services with 49 per cent Ayushman cards issued to women beneficiaries. Also, 48 per cent of treatment provided under the scheme has been availed by women; thus, gender equity is part of core design of the scheme.
The scheme has reported 6.2 crore hospital admissions worth more than Rs 79,157 crore.
If the beneficiaries would have availed the same treatment on their own outside the ambit of the scheme, the total cost would have been nearly two times higher, thus, saving more than Rs 1.25 lakh crore out-of-pocket expenditure of poor and deprived families, the ministry stated.
Today, Ayushman Card has become a symbol of equity, entitlement and empowerment. It gives an assurance to the poor and deprived family that they will be protected against the double burden of disease and the debilitating impact of catastrophic expenditure incurred during treatment. Underscoring this fact, Government is making all efforts to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries possess Ayushman Card.
Further, Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY has successfully catered to 6.2 crore hospital admissions worth more than Rs 79,157 crore. If the beneficiary would have availed the same treatment on their own outside the ambit of AB PM-JAY, the total cost of the treatment would have gone nearly 2 times higher, thus, saving more than 1.25 lakh crore out of pocket expenditure of poor and deprived families.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya posted on X (formally known as Twitter),
देश हो रहा आयुष्मान!
30 करोड़ से अधिक लोगों को मिली प्रधानमंत्री @NarendraModi जी की मुफ़्त इलाज की गारंटी। pic.twitter.com/1IBr19WDJ0
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) January 13, 2024
As many as 50 crore individuals have an Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number as their unique health identity; over 1.5 crore patients have used ABHA-based instant OPD registration service and more than 50 lakh people are using the ABHA app to manage their health records digitally. The Union Health Ministry said on Friday (January 12),
Till December 22, 50 crore individuals have the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) as their unique health ID under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. Health facilities like hospitals, clinics, labs, etc., insurance companies and other healthcare service providers are using ABHA for patient registrations. This has further enabled the digital linking of patient records with their ABHA accounts. To date, over 33 crore health records have been linked with ABHA accounts of the patients.
Speaking on the mission’s progress, the CEO of the National Health Authority (NHA) said,
In the last two years since launching ABDM, the response from the entire ecosystem, including patients, healthcare service providers, state teams, policymakers and health tech innovators, has been quite encouraging. With collective efforts from the industry towards the adoption of ABDM, we aim to take the benefits of digital health services to the remotest corners of the country. As more and more people start using ABHA-based services, we get closer to our goal of making healthcare more accessible and efficient.
Patients are using the ABHA app to securely manage their health records in a digital format replacing the old medical files and paper-based record-keeping methods. The ABHA app is available for Android as well as iOS users.
The ABHA number is also being used by patients to avail themselves of instant registration services at hospitals.
The scan and share service launched under ABDM enables patients to scan the QR code placed at Out Patient Department (OPD) counters in hospitals and share their ABHA profiles for instant registration. It said,
This service has helped close to 1.5 crore patients save time spent in OPD registration queues daily. Even the health facilities can manage the patients as well as patient records better with ABHA-based registrations.
ABDM is essentially connecting all stakeholders in the health sector via digital highways.
Like ABHA numbers for patients, the healthcare service providers are also being verified and registered.
ABDM’s Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) has 2.6 lakh verified doctors and nurses, while the Health Facility Registry (HFR) has 2.26 Lakh hospitals, clinics, labs, pharmacies etc. registered. Further, over 56,000 hospitals across the country use ABDM-enabled solutions.
To further promote digital health adoption at the service provider level, NHA launched a Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) that gives incentives to health facilities, insurance companies and health solution providers based on the progress made in ABHA-linked health records.
For active adoption of ABDM by smaller health facilities from the private sector, NHA announced the 100 Microsites project in July 2023. Under this project, 29 Microsites are already active across 10 states and UTs.
India has wholeheartedly acknowledged and accepted digital services. From digital identity to digital payments, daily transactions have transformed from paper-based, queue systems and manual processes to digital, queue-less and instant services. With ABDM, the health sector is transforming itself and adding the ease of digital access for all stakeholders.
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
