Long wait at hospital registration counters is slowly giving way to a QR code
NEW DELHI: The long wait at hospital registration counters is slowly giving way to a QR code. In a sign of India’s growing digital health footprint, patients have now completed 25 crore outpatient (OPD) registrations through the ABHA-based ‘Scan and Register’ service under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), with nearly four lakh people using the facility every day.Introduced in October 2022, the service allows patients to register for an OPD consultation by simply scanning a QR code displayed at participating hospitals through an ABDM-enabled health app. Once they give consent, their ABHA-linked details are shared with the hospital, eliminating paperwork and reducing waiting time at registration counters.The service is now available in 30,800 hospitals and healthcare facilities across 36 states and Union Territories and 756 districts, making it one of the country’s fastest-growing digital public health services. More than 24,000 government facilities and 6,400 private hospitals have adopted the system.The biggest users of the platform are in Bihar, which has recorded over 7.3 crore digital OPD registrations, followed by Uttar Pradesh (4.09 crore), Andhra Pradesh (3.38 crore) and Jammu & Kashmir (1.39 crore).Among hospitals, AIIMS New Delhi has emerged as the country’s busiest digital registration centre, recording over 54.29 lakh Scan and Register transactions. It is followed by AIIMS Bhopal (29.1 lakh), AIIMS Bhubaneswar (23.93 lakh), AIIMS Patna (19.62 lakh) and AIIMS Raipur (18.63 lakh).Officials said the service has particularly eased hospital visits for senior citizens, pregnant women and patients requiring frequent follow-ups by cutting time spent at registration counters and doing away with repeated form filling.
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“This milestone reflects the growing trust that citizens and healthcare providers have placed in India’s digital health ecosystem. By simplifying one of the most common touchpoints in healthcare, OPD registration, the service has enhanced patient convenience while improving efficiency for hospitals,” National Health Authority CEO Dr Sunil Kumar Barnwal said.The National Health Authority said the service is now operational across AIIMS, central and state government hospitals, medical colleges, district hospitals, ESIC and railway hospitals, as well as private healthcare facilities, and is expected to expand further as more hospitals adopt ABHA-enabled digital services.
