A Formative Study to analyse Awareness, Knowledge, and Utilisation Gap about ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) at a Tertiary Care Health Setting

Awareness, Knowledge, and Utilisation gap about ABHA

Abstract

Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) is a 14-digit unique digital identity for people of India under the aegis of the ‘Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission’ launched on 27th September 2021. It aims for the integration of healthcare services, patient record accessibility, and pan- India portability for achieving universal health coverage through digitalisation. Objective: To assess awareness regarding enrolment and usage of ABHA among people in the outpatient department and in proximal areas of PGIMER, Chandigarh, which is a tertiary care educational and research hospital. Methodology: It is a short cross-sectional study conducted in PGIMER from 9th November to 9th December 2024 with a purposive sampling technique with a sample size of twenty. Direct face-to-face interviews were conducted with interviewer- administered questionnaire. Results: 68 crore ABHA IDs have been created, latest till 20th November 2024 in India. In Chandigarh, 8.6 lakh ABHAs have been created out of 12.4, lakh which is 70% of the total population. According to our study, 65% of people have an ABHA ID but the usage percentage is 0%. There is a perceived confusion among 70% of people about different health cards, and 85% of people desired information to be disbursed through social media to cover the knowledge gap. Conclusion: The usage of ABHA ID is 0% although 8.6 lakh ABHA IDs have already been made in Chandigarh. There is a lack of awareness and information about the usage and benefits of ABHA among the patients as well as in the general population; therefore, future studies are warranted to further explore this issue.