Sanvro Tech · ABHA
The number and the address
An Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) is the person's account on Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). An ABHA number identifies the person, and an ABHA address is where records and consent requests are sent. A personal health record (PHR) connects to the Sanvro digital health locker. A hospital information system needs the number and the address for different reasons.
Two parts of one account
Teams mix these up because both are called ABHA. The number is who the person is on the network. The address is where a visit or a consent request goes. Select either one. Creating and verifying them is milestone M1.
The 14 digit ABHA number
The ABHA number is the identifier for the person. It is 14 digits, and it is issued when they have been verified. A person has one number. A hospital information system stores it on the patient. A personal health record app can show it. It is not the clinical note, and it is not the address other systems use when they send a record.
The ABHA address
The ABHA address is the handle a visit, a consent request, or a shared record is aimed at. People can read it. It is often written like a name followed by @abdm. Linking a care context uses this address, not the 14 digit number alone. A person can hold more than one address, and still only one ABHA number. Consent and record sharing need an address to land on.
What a PHR is
A personal health record (PHR) app is the app the person uses to hold an ABHA address, see linked records, grant consent, and keep records in a health locker.
PHR integration is a sequence the product builds. P1 is registration and login. The person has an ABHA number and an ABHA address. P2 is consents management. The app requests or displays consent so a record can move. P3 is subscription. The app asks to be notified when new records are linked. P4 is the locker. The Sanvro health locker is live. A PHR app connects to it instead of building locker infrastructure. It is easy to connect. Sanvro carries the ABDM calls.
Why a PHR app needs the number and the address
They sign in under P1. They read a request to share a report under P2. They see a visit a clinic linked. None of that has a destination until an ABHA address exists.
The number is the verified identity. A username the person typed is not enough. A facility system can create and verify the ABHA under M1. The person's own app registers them and keeps the profile under P1.
The PHR shows the number, shows the address, and gives the person a clear yes or no when someone asks for a record. The PHR steps are that build, through the live locker at P4.
Why a HIMS needs them
A hospital information system (HIMS) already has the visit. ABHA is how that visit is addressed outside the building. At registration, staff create an account or find the one the person already has. Later, the same system links the visit, as a care context, to the ABHA address. That linking step is M2, and the system is acting as a health information provider (HIP).
The clinical note stays in the HIMS. ABHA does not swallow the hospital record. It gives the visit an address so that, if the person agrees, a health information user (HIU) can fetch it under M3.
Sharing a profile from the person's phone at the counter is a different gesture. It does not, by itself, create an ABHA number or an ABHA address, and it does not by itself link the care context.
What the person should be able to see
In their own app
The number, the address, and a request written in ordinary language before any record moves. They should be able to refuse.
At the facility
A confirmation that this visit will be linked to the address they recognise. Staff should not need a second system open beside the HIMS.
If you would rather not own gateway sessions yourself, the Sanvro ABDM Bridge keeps those screens in your product. Sanvro handles sessions, headers, Fidelius, the bridge URL, certificates, callbacks, one API, and a signed webhook.
A locker, without building a locker
Once an ABHA exists, a health locker can keep records the person has agreed to store, tied to that account. A locker is a role. It is not a third product you buy instead of a HIP or a HIU, and it is not something a PHR team has to operate from scratch.
The Sanvro digital health locker is live. A partner connects it from their PHR app or HIMS. Your app calls Sanvro. The personal health record experience stays in the partner app. Locker infrastructure stays with Sanvro. That is the practical end of this page: you still design the account and the consent the person sees, and you do not have to stand up the locker underneath it.
Build M1, M2, M3, and the PHR flows
Build these M1, M2, M3, and PHR flows with Sanvro, and connect the live health locker.
Questions worth asking first
How is an ABHA number different from an ABHA address?
The number is the 14 digit identifier for the person, issued after verification. There is one number. The address is the handle a visit, a consent request, or a shared record is sent to. A person can hold more than one address. Linking a visit uses the address.
Why does a PHR app need an ABHA?
The personal health record app is where the person sees the account, signs in, and decides what may be shared. Without an ABHA address, consent and record sharing have nowhere to land. Without the ABHA number, the account is not tied to a verified identity.
Why does a HIMS need an ABHA?
The hospital information system already holds the visit. ABHA is how that visit is addressed on Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. Staff create or find the account, then link the visit as a care context. The clinical note still lives in the HIMS.
Can we offer a locker without building one?
Yes. The Sanvro digital health locker is live. A PHR connects to it. Your PHR app or HIMS calls Sanvro. Locker infrastructure stays with Sanvro, and the experience the person opens stays in your product.
What is a PHR in ABDM?
A personal health record (PHR) app is the app the person uses to hold an ABHA address, see linked records, grant consent, and keep records in a health locker. PHR integration is P1 registration and login, P2 consents management, P3 subscription, and P4 locker. P3 subscription means the app asks to be notified when new records are linked. The Sanvro digital health locker is live and easy to connect. A PHR app connects to it, and Sanvro ABDM Bridge does the ABDM calls.