A professional travelling for work. A hospital visit in an unfamiliar city. And health records that did not follow. Here is what is changing.
Meera is in Chennai for work when she needs to see a doctor. The hospital asks for her records: her last tests, her prescriptions, her history. It is all back home in Pune.
What happens to a patient’s records once they leave a hospital is a question most people have never had to think about. Those records stay where they were created, because until recently, no shared infrastructure existed to connect them across providers.
That is the piece that is now being built.
When Records Stayed at the Hospital
For a long time, every hospital a patient visited kept its own records, and only its own. The file a doctor created during a stay belonged to that facility. When a patient moved to a different hospital, a different city, or a different specialist, those records did not follow.
This was simply how the system worked. There was no common way for one hospital’s records to reach another. So when a patient arrived somewhere new, their care often started from scratch, their history retold from memory, their reports and prescriptions only as useful as the paper copies they remembered to bring [1][2].
Nobody lost those records on purpose. The technology to connect them just did not exist yet.
That is what is changing now.
So Where Do Records Go After Discharge?
Every time a patient visits a hospital or clinic, a record is made: the doctor’s notes, lab and imaging reports, medication records, and a discharge summary at the end of the stay.
Those records are kept by the hospital. Indian regulations require hospitals to retain in-patient records for a minimum of three years [3], and accredited hospitals often keep them for five years or more [3].
But here is something many patients do not know: they have the right to ask for their records, and the hospital is required to provide them, usually within 72 hours of a request [4].
This is not widely known. And until recently, there was no common infrastructure connecting different hospitals and providers, so even digital records rarely travelled beyond the facility that created them.
That is the piece that is now being built.
A New Idea: Records That Travel With the Patient
In September 2021, the Government of India launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission — or ABDM with a straightforward goal: make it possible for health records to follow patients, wherever they go for care [5].
At the heart of ABDM is something called an ABHA ID (Ayushman Bharat Health Account). ABHA is a free, 14-digit digital health ID that lets Indian patients link their medical records across hospitals, with their consent. Think of it less like a file and more like a key, one that lets patients access and share their own health records across any hospital, clinic, or lab that is part of the ABDM network [6].
ABHA IDs can be created by patients themselves or with the help of a hospital or health worker during registration. Some patients may have had one set up during a hospital visit or government health programme and not yet explored it further. A good first step is to check whether an ABHA ID already exists. This can be done at abha.abdm.gov.in or through the ABHA app, using an Aadhaar number or mobile number. If one exists, it can be accessed and activated. If not, creating one is free and takes only a few minutes [15].
Over 90 crore ABHA accounts have been created across India as of 2026, and more than 100 crore health records are now linked to individual ABHA accounts [7][8].
Once a patient has their ABHA ID and their hospital is part of the ABDM network, the records from every visit (discharge summary, lab reports, prescriptions) can be linked to their account, with their consent. The next time they see a doctor anywhere in the network, those records can travel with them [9].
Records Move Only When the Patient Says So
One of the most important things to understand about ABDM is this: health records do not move automatically. No doctor, hospital, or insurer can access a patient’s linked records without their permission, every time, for every request [10].
When someone wants to access a patient’s records, they have to state what they want to see, why they need it, and for how long. The patient decides whether to allow it. And if they change their mind, they can take that permission back [11].
Beyond consent, ABDM gives patients several rights over their own health data that are worth knowing [12]:
- Right to access and review — Patients can view the data collected and stored in their health account
- Right to correction — They can request corrections to inaccuracies in their records
- Right to data portability — They can export or download their health records
- Right to withdraw consent — They can revoke access granted to any third party
- Right to file grievances — They can submit complaints regarding data misuse
- Right to nominate — They can appoint a nominee to manage their health data in case of incapacity [12]
These rights are backed by Indian law, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which gives individuals legal standing over how their personal data is used [13].
What a Hospital Visit Looks Like Today
The experience varies depending on the hospital and the systems they use.
At hospitals that are fully set up for ABDM, the process can be quite seamless. The patient shares their ABHA ID or scans their ABHA QR code at registration. The hospital sends a consent request to their phone. Once approved, previous records (past diagnoses, medications, allergies) are available to the doctor before the consultation begins. After the visit, new records are added to their ABHA account with their consent, building a connected picture of their health over time [9].
Many hospitals are at different stages of this journey. A simple question worth asking at any hospital, at registration or at discharge, is: “Can you upload my visit summary or records to my ABHA ID?” The answer will tell a patient exactly where that facility stands, and signals to hospitals that patients are aware of what is possible.
If the hospital is not yet able to do this, the process works as it always has. The patient receives their discharge summary and reports at the end of their stay, and those documents are theirs to keep.
Hospitals, clinics, labs, and pharmacies across India are joining the ABDM network progressively [11][14]. The network is growing, and more facilities are adding this capability every month.
What Patients Can Do Today
There is no need to wait for a hospital to join the ABDM network to get started. Here are a few simple steps any patient can take:
Create or locate an ABHA ID. The official route is abha.abdm.gov.in or the ABHA app. Both free and require only an Aadhaar number and linked mobile number. Many patients can also create or access their ABHA ID through health apps they already use, such as MediBuddy, or through their health insurance provider’s platform. It takes just a few minutes [15].
Ask for records. Patients have the right to request their medical records from any hospital they have visited, at discharge, or by following up with the hospital afterward in writing [4].
Keep documents together. A simple folder (physical or on a phone) with discharge summaries, lab reports, and prescriptions can make a real difference the next time a doctor needs that information.
Understand consent requests. When a request comes through an ABDM-linked app to access health records, the patient is in control: they decide what to share, with whom, and for how long.
A Different Kind of Healthcare Journey
India’s healthcare system has come a long way, and so has the way health records are managed. For the first time, there is an infrastructure designed to put patients at the centre of their own health information. Their records, their consent, their access.
Over 100 crore health records are now linked to individual ABHA accounts [8]. The system is real, the rights are in place, and the tools are available to every Indian citizen.
A patient’s health story has always been their own. Now it can travel with them.
Meera created her ABHA ID before her next trip. It took a few minutes.
The next time she needed to see a doctor in an unfamiliar city, the conversation started where it left off.
This is Article 1 in the “Your Health, Your Data” series from CaladriusHealth.AI, a nine-part guide to India’s digital health ecosystem. The series covers ABHA, health data consent, claims and cashless hospitalisation, switching hospitals, and the rights patients carry into every clinical encounter.
Watch: 60-Second Summary
Prefer watching over reading? See what happens when Meera needs a doctor in a city without her records.
Sources & References
All sources are from 2021–2026 and drawn from government, regulatory, and credible public-interest publications.
[1] Lexology / Medical Law Review — Traditional paper-based medical records in India: systemic limitations. (Legal/Academic) https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=602e4ca8-b3d3-4091-b46d-e6a9b9689f6b
[2] NITI Aayog / Frontier Tech Hub — MyDigiRecords case study: patient records loss, duplicate testing, and fragmented care in India. (Govt ecosystem) https://frontiertech.niti.gov.in/story/a-patient-owned-digital-health-records-platform-serving-40000-users-across-india/
[3] Dr Arvinder Singh (Legal Resource) — Medical record retention regulations: NMC/MCI 3-year baseline, NABH 5-year standard. (Legal/Industry) https://drarvindersingh.com/medical-record-retention-rules-in-india/
[4] Indian Medical Association (IMA) — Patient right to medical records under MCI Regulations 2002; 72-hour provision. (Primary — Professional body) https://www.ima-india.org/ima/archive-page-details.php?pid=483
[5] Shifam Health — ABDM launched nationally September 2021; goals and architecture. (Industry) https://shifamhealth.com/digital-health-records-privacy-india-abdm-rights-safety/
[6] National Health Authority — ABHA ID as 14-digit digital health identity; consent-based, decentralised architecture. (Primary — Govt) https://abdm.gov.in
[7] IndiaMedToday / Prokerala — ABHA account growth: 14.7 crore (2021) to 90+ crore (2026), citing ABDM official data. (News — citing Govt data) https://indiamedtoday.com/ayushman-bharat-digital-mission-crosses-90-crore-abha-accounts-milestone/
[8] Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare — 100 crore health records linked with ABHA; ABDM milestone announcement, May 2026. (Primary — Govt) https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2264241
[9] Nuvertos — How ABDM-integrated hospitals handle patient consent, record upload, and longitudinal health records. (Industry/Implementation) https://connect.nuvertos.com/blog/abdm-compliant-hospital-software-2026-guide
[10] Shifam Health — Consent-based data sharing principle under ABDM; time-bound, purpose-specific consent. (Industry) https://shifamhealth.com/digital-health-records-privacy-india-abdm-rights-safety/
[11] DPI Global / NHA — ABDM follows federated architecture; integration currently voluntary for health facilities. (Primary — Govt ecosystem) https://www.dpi.global/globaldpi/abdm
[12] National Health Authority — Aarogya Setu 2.0 Privacy Policy: patient rights enumerated including access, correction, portability, consent withdrawal, grievance, and nomination. (Primary — Govt) https://abdm.gov.in/Aarogya-Setu-PRIVACY-POLICY-english
[13] DPO India — DPDPA 2023 and ABDM alignment; consent obligations and privacy framework. (Industry/Legal) https://www.dpo-india.com/Blogs/digital-health-records/
[14] MedicalVault India — Health Facility Registry and Healthcare Professionals Registry under ABDM. (Industry) https://medicalvault.in/blog/digital-health-records-india
[15] CollegeSimplified — How to create an ABHA ID: abha.abdm.gov.in, ABHA app, Aadhaar-based registration. (Industry) https://www.collegesimplified.in/post/beyond-the-paper-how-abha-id-is-rewriting-india-s-medical-history-in-2026