Introduction The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is India's attempt to build a single, interoperable digital health ecosystem. Launched in September 2021, it has moved well beyond a pilot. As of mid-2025, over 78 crore ABHA IDs have been created and more than 55 crore health records linked to these IDs. For doctors, this is no longer optional infrastructure. Patients are arriving with ABHA IDs and expecting their records to be linkable. Clinics and hospitals are being asked to register. This article covers what ABDM means for you specifically as a doctor. How ABDM Works at the Clinic Level ABDM has three registries doctors interact with. The Health Professional Registry (HPR) is where you register as a doctor and get a unique HPR ID linked to your NMC registration. The Health Facility Registry (HFR) is where your clinic or hospital registers. The ABHA ecosystem is where patient records are stored and shared with consent. When a patient shares their ABHA ID with you, you can view their linked records from previous consultations at any ABDM-connected facility across India. Prescriptions and notes you generate can also be pushed back to their ABHA account. Where It Stands and What Doctors Should Do ABDM is still voluntary for most private practitioners as of 2026, but the direction is clear. Government hospitals and ABDM-empanelled facilities are already required to be on the system. The AIIMS ransomware attack in 2022 exposed the risks of centralizing health data, which has slowed some adoption, but interoperability features are being strengthened. Registering your HPR ID now is low-effort and positions your practice as part of the formal digital health grid before it becomes mandatory. Is registering with ABDM mandatory for private doctors? As of March 2026, it is not yet compulsory for private solo practitioners. However, hospitals and clinics that are empanelled under government schemes like PM-JAY or eSanjeevani must be registered. The government's trajectory strongly suggests that mandatory enrollment for all registered practitioners is coming in the next policy cycle. What is the HPR ID and how do I get one? The HPR ID is your unique digital identifier as a healthcare professional within the ABDM ecosystem. To register, go to hpr.abdm.gov.in, sign in with Aadhaar OTP or driving license, and link your NMC registration number. The process takes under 15 minutes. Once registered, your profile is verifiable by patients and connected to the ABDM network. Can I see a patient's old records from another hospital using ABHA? Yes, but only with explicit patient consent. The patient must share their ABHA ID with you and approve access. Once consent is granted, you can view health records that have been digitally linked to their ABHA account by other ABDM-connected facilities. Records from non-connected facilities remain unavailable regardless of consent. What are the data privacy risks for doctors using ABDM? The AIIMS Delhi ransomware attack in November 2022 took five hospital servers offline for weeks, affecting critical care for thousands of patients. ABDM's architecture uses a federated model rather than a single central server to reduce this risk. For individual doctors, the main risk is using non-ABDM-compliant third-party software that handles patient data outside secure channels. Always use software that is ABDM-certified. How many health records are actually linked to ABHA IDs right now? As of June 2025, over 55 crore health records were linked to ABHA IDs out of the 78 crore IDs issued. Actual usage in rural areas remains low due to internet connectivity gaps and low digital literacy, despite the high registration numbers. Urban metro usage is significantly higher. Does ABDM replace my existing clinic management software? No. ABDM is an interoperability layer, not a practice management system. Your existing software, whether it is a custom EHR, a billing platform, or a basic patient records tool, continues to work. You need ABDM-compliant software to push and pull records from the ecosystem. Several existing platforms like CharmHealth, Practo, and others have already built ABDM integration into their products.