BMC makes ABHA registrations mandatory for all medical practitioners

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has implemented the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) scheme, wherein they have decided to make it mandatory for private medical practitioners in the city to register all their patients on the ABHA website. Though it seems a good move to have all the information on a centralised platform, nevertheless the Indian Medical Association (IMA) is apprehensive about data security. 

ABHA is a digital portal where the patient's health information and details will be stored. ABHA will facilitate easy registration, schedule and management of appointments, paperless health records. Also, through ABHA the medical records of a patient can be shared with other healthcare providers (with patient consent!) for a second opinion. It serves as a digital database of patients' health records on the centralised server.

The BMC will begin this initiative as a pilot project in 11 administrative wards. BMC’s Executive Health Officer Dr Managala Gomare said the city has been at the forefront of digitisation in public health. “This pilot project provides an excellent opportunity to lead the way and set an example for other cities and states for the rapid adoption of this transformative mission by the private sector."

National President of IMA, Ravi Vankhedkar expressed concerns regarding the security of data. “This data is a goldmine for pharma companies and the healthcare sector and can easily be misused.” The data will be handled by contractual workers and there are no measures in place to maintain patient privacy.

A BMC official said that private medical practitioners and facilities will be registered under ABHA, while health professionals and facilities will be registered under the Health Care Professionals Registry (HPR) and Health Facility Registry (HFR), respectively. “Since November 2022, about 3,500 medical professionals have been trained by the BMC, of which 1,000 registered with the initiative. Additionally, 850 medical professionals are using this digital technology to create electric health records.”