ABHA Scan and Share: the QR code OPD token, explained What the patient shares, what the counter gets, and whether a private clinic must offer it.

ABHA Scan and Share is an Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) service in which a patient scans a QR code at a facility's registration counter with an ABHA app, shares basic details and gets an OPD token number. The ABDM FAQ says the National Health Authority (NHA) built it "for reducing waiting period for patients in long queues for registration in a healthcare facility". ABHA is the Ayushman Bharat Health Account; a PIB backgrounder of 6 July 2026 describes the ABHA number as "A 14-digit unique health identifier".

How does Scan and Share work at the counter?

The patient scans the QR code at the counter, receives a token number, and walks up when that number is called to collect the OP slip. The ABDM FAQ describes it in these steps:

1. The patient opens the QR scanner in the ABHA app and scans "the QR code present at the registration counter of the health facility".
2. Name, gender, mobile number, date of birth, ABHA address and ABHA number (if linked) are shared at the counter "with an implied consent from the user, for token generation".
3. The patient gets a token number. "When the given token number is called, the user can approach the registration counter to get the OP slip."
4. "Any additional details required by the facility will be asked and filled separately at the registration counter."

Another FAQ entry says the shared details are "primarily used for generating registration OPD token and record linking". The same FAQ now lists two related features under the same name: Scan and Pay for paying pending hospital charges, and Scan and Share Records for sharing reports with the doctor through a QR code on the doctor's desk.

Where can a patient use Scan and Share?

Only at "ABDM enabled health facilities where Scan and share is implemented", in the FAQ's words. The PIB backgrounder says the patient's details are "integrated with the facility's Health Information System", so the counter's own software has to receive them. On the patient side, the FAQ names the ABHA app and other ABDM-enabled personal health record apps, Aarogya Setu among them. PIB says the service launched in 2022 and that over 23.21 crore ABHA-linked tokens had been issued as on 18 June 2026.

Does a private clinic have to offer Scan and Share?

No. ABDM FAQ 16 says participation "of a healthcare facility or an institution is also voluntary", and FAQ 248 says enrolment in the Health Facility Registry is voluntary. On the patient side, the FAQ says "it is not mandatory for all citizens to get an ABHA Number". So a clinic that does offer Scan and Share still registers patients without ABHA the ordinary way. The registration steps for a clinic and its doctors are in our post on ABDM for private clinics, and the two registries are defined in HFR and HPR.

What would it look like in a small OPD?

Take a single-doctor clinic with one receptionist. If the clinic were registered on ABDM and its software supported Scan and Share, a QR poster would sit at the desk. A patient with the ABHA app scans it, gets a token on the phone, and the receptionist sees the name, date of birth and mobile number arrive without typing them. Fee, address or any other field the clinic needs is still asked at the desk. A patient without ABHA, or without a smartphone, is registered by hand as before. The token itself is the same daily number any paper or software token system uses.