In a significant move towards the digitalization of India’s healthcare system, the National Medical Council (NMC) has announced that all patients treated in medical colleges must be registered using a unique Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) ID. NMC emphasized that starting from the 2025-26 academic year, only patients and clinical materials authenticated with an ABHA ID will be considered in assessments.
This mandatory implementation of the ABHA ID will affect decisions regarding the future prospects of medical colleges, including increased undergraduate (UG) or postgraduate (PG) seats, the establishment of new colleges, and the annual renewal of permission/recognition to admit students. This decision was finalized in NMC’s 14th meeting held on May 1, 2024. However, the Medical Regulator has clarified that no patient should be denied treatment if they do not have an ABHA ID.
The initial decision to implement this requirement was taken during NMC’s 11th meeting on October 18, 2023. At that time, the Commission issued a circular to all medical colleges across the country, encouraging the use of ABHA IDs. NMC highlighted that utilizing the Health Management Information System (HMIS) to register patients with ABHA IDs would provide reliable data on the clinical material available in each college, essential for training undergraduate and postgraduate medical students.
