New Delhi: The National Health Authority (NHA) has achieved a significant milestone in its mission towards digitizing healthcare services with the generation of over 3 crore tokens for Out-Patient Department (OPD) registrations through the ABHA-based Scan and Share service.

Launched under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in October 2022, this innovative paperless service has revolutionized the patient experience, particularly benefiting vulnerable groups such as the elderly, pregnant women, and those with mobility challenges, by eliminating the need to wait in long queues for appointments.

The ABHA-based Scan and Share service enables patients to conveniently register for OPD appointments by scanning a QR code displayed at the OPD registration counter, thereby instantaneously sharing their ABHA profile for registration.

The Scan and Share service is presently operational across over 5435 healthcare facilities spanning across 546 districts in 35 States and Union Territories of India. Notably, an average of 1.3 lakh individuals avail the Scan and Share service daily, highlighting its usefulness and popularity among the citizens.

The Scan and Share initiative’s widespread adoption by states and Union Territories across public health facilities is effectively streamlining patient registration processes at the OPD counters and enhancing service efficiency to the patients. Leading the adoption journey are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Jammu & Kashmir, with impressive statistics showcasing their commitment to leveraging technology for citizen welfare. Uttar Pradesh has generated the maximum tokens of 92.7 lakh tokens, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 53.7 lakh, Karnataka with 39.9 lakh, and Jammu & Kashmir with 37.1 lakh tokens.

The ABDM Public Dashboard (https://dashboard.abdm.gov.in/abdm/) provides insights into the service's utilization, with notable usage recorded at AIIMS in Delhi, Bhopal, Raipur, and Bhubaneshwar. Remarkably, sixteen hospitals from Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir feature prominently in the top-performing facilities for the overall number of OPD tokens generated using the ABHA-based Scan and Share service, exemplifying their dedication to enhancing healthcare accessibility and efficiency.

Government hospitals, including AIIMS in New Delhi with 14.9 lakh tokens, and those in Bhopal, Prayagraj, and Raipur with 6.7 lakh, 5.1 lakh, and 4.9 lakh tokens respectively, have showcased outstanding performance by efficiently facilitating OPD registrations through the Scan and Share service.

In discussing the importance of digital healthcare services, the CEO of the National Health Authority (NHA) said, “The Scan and Share service is an innovative facility under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aimed at transforming healthcare accessibility and efficiency. This digital service eliminates the need for manual paperwork and significantly reduces waiting time, making hospital visits more streamlined and efficient. By facilitating quick and secure information exchange, Scan and Share benefits approximately 1,30,000 patients daily, with a particular focus on assisting vulnerable groups and those with urgent healthcare needs. This technological advancement underscores ABDM's commitment to leveraging digital solutions to enhance healthcare delivery for all citizens.”

Among all the token generations, approximately 75% are first-time users, while 25% use Scan and Share for subsequent visits, highlighting its widespread adoption and usefulness.

To drive further adoption of the Scan and Share service among hospitals and Digital Solution Companies (DSCs) providing technology to healthcare facilities, NHA offers financial incentives through the ABDM's Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) for 'Scan and Share' transactions and the generation of electronic health records. More information about DHIS is accessible at https://abdm.gov.in/DHIS.

NHA is leveraging technology to enhance patients' access to healthcare services. The 'Scan and Share' service is now being implemented at pharmacy counters of the public hospitals, and plans are underway to extend it to laboratory settings. Additionally, efforts are being made to launch upcoming services, like 'Scan and Send' and 'Scan and Pay' leveraging the comfort of citizens with QR codes. The ‘Scan and Pay’ service will enable patients to make payments for tests or medicines prescribed to them directly through their app, eliminating the need to wait in lines for payment at healthcare facilities. Similarly, the ‘Scan and Send’ service will soon allow patients to conveniently scan a QR code at a facility (hospital or pharmacy) and send their health records, including prescriptions or lab reports. /BI