SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s Health and Medical Education (H&ME) Department said it has made significant progress under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), as revealed in a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo today at Jammu. The state has created 90,90,802 Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs for a targeted population of 1.36 crore, marking a significant step in digitising healthcare services.
The Health Facility Registry (HFR) in the region now includes all public health facilities and empanelled private institutions, while the Health Professionals Registry (HPR) has recorded data for 6,448 doctors and 4,488 nurses. Additionally, 105 health facilities in the Union Territory (UT) are offering QR code-based registrations for OPD admissions, having generated 53,99,189 tokens so far. This technology has been introduced to streamline patient registration and is set to expand to more hospitals soon.
The Chief Secretary emphasised the importance of digitising health records securely, developing Electronic Health Records (EHR), and creating a system that allows healthcare providers to offer paperless services. He also urged the department to ensure all OPD admissions are covered under ABDM and to periodically update registries for health institutions and professionals. Public awareness campaigns through bulk SMS services about the benefits of ABHA IDs were also highlighted as a priority.
The meeting was attended by senior officials, including Secretary H&ME Dr Syed Abid Rashid Shah, MD NHM, and Principals of Medical Colleges, alongside other concerned officers. Dr Shah highlighted that the ABDM’s foundational elements include creating ABHA IDs, maintaining comprehensive registries of health practitioners and institutions, and fostering technological integration.
Updates on medical education were also reviewed. The Government Nursing College Srinagar has introduced an M.Sc Nursing course with 25 seats already filled. Discussions are underway to introduce the same course in the Nursing College Jammu after the first batch of Post Basic B.Sc Nursing graduates completes their studies. Currently, the UT offers 233 M.Sc Nursing seats across eight institutions, with 206 already filled.
In terms of overall capacity, J&K’s 49 nursing colleges offer 2,885 seats, 19 paramedical institutions provide 1,660 seats, and six B-Pharma institutions accommodate 373 candidates. Admissions this year included 3,150 B.Sc Nursing seats, 334 B.Pharma seats, and 627 B.Sc Paramedical seats, with leftover seats being filled by respective institutions.
The Chief Secretary reiterated the importance of addressing gaps in medical education and leveraging the ABDM to improve healthcare delivery across the UT. He directed actionable steps to ensure optimal utilisation of resources, enhanced connectivity in remote areas, and efficient service delivery.
