The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has launched a new initiative that has transformed the way patients register for Outpatient Department (OPD) services in India. With the introduction of a QR code-based system, patients can use their smartphones to scan a QR code and share their verified demographic data with hospitals’ Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) with just one click. This has greatly reduced waiting times for patients and ensured accurate data entry into the HMIS, eliminating the need for patients to stand in long queues.
Approximately 418 facilities in 26 states and union territories have implemented the scan and share functionality, and since its launch, around 10 lakh patients have generated their OP slip in just 2-5 minutes. Patients can easily identify the QR codes displayed at multiple locations in the waiting and registration areas and scan them using their smartphones for faster OPD registration.
ABDM-enabled smartphone Personal Health Record (PHR) players allow individuals to create their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number, link and store their health records against their ABHA number and share them with health facilities for various care purposes. These applications also enable the scanning of QR codes in the OPD registration area, allowing individuals to transfer their demographic information, including their name, age, gender, and ABHA number, to the HMIS of the hospital concerned.
Once the hospital’s HMIS solution receives this information, it generates a token or queue number for the patient, which is sent to their mobile phone. Patients can wait at designated areas until their token number is displayed on the overhead screens. Once the patient’s token number is displayed, they can go to the counter, where the operator retrieves the demographic details from the system based on the token number and prints the OPD card.
The QR code-based OPD registration service has been a game-changer in the healthcare system of India, where long queues and waiting times have been a persistent problem for patients seeking medical services. This initiative has drastically reduced the waiting time for patients and ensured accurate data entry into the HMIS, doing away with the need for patients to stand in long queues.
One of the significant benefits of this initiative is reduced waiting time for patients, which has been a persistent problem in the healthcare system of India. The introduction of the QR code-based solution has allowed patients to generate their OP slip in just 2-5 minutes, a significant improvement from waiting in long queues for hours.
Another benefit is the accuracy of data entry into the HMIS, which has been a persistent problem in the past. With the QR code-based solution, accurate data entry into the HMIS has been ensured, eliminating the need for patients to stand in long queues.
The third benefit of this initiative is linked health records, as ABDM-enabled smartphone Personal Health Record (PHR) players allow individuals to store their health records against their ABHA number and share them with hospitals.
The CEO of NHA stated that the Scan and Share service is part of ABDM’s goal to create a digital healthcare delivery system. The daily average for OPD tokens generated through this feature is about 25,000, with plans to expand this feature for other patient-provider interactions.
This innovative initiative has been implemented by over 443 hospitals spanning 147 districts, including distinguished healthcare facilities such as AIIMS-Raipur, NDMC Charak Palika Hospital-New Delhi, and LHMC & SSKH-New Delhi, facilitating more than 25,000 patients every day through the ABHA-based Scan and Share functionality. The introduction of this service by NHA took place on October 6, 2022, at Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) & Smt. Sucheta Kriplani Hospital (SSKH) in New Delhi