Glossary
PHR full form and meaning: the patient's own health record PHR vs EMR vs EHR, what a PHR app like the ABHA app does, and what it means for the clinic's own records.
Three records, three owners. The EMR belongs to the clinic, the EHR joins records from many providers, and the PHR is the one the patient starts and controls. Here is the PHR defined from the MoHFW standard and the ABDM FAQ.
Published · Last reviewed · 3 min read
- The MoHFW EHR Standards for India 2016 define a PHR as "a health record that is initiated and maintained by an individual" that gathers data from many sources.
- Under ABDM, a PHR app (the ABHA app, Aarogya Setu and others) creates the ABHA address, links records from facilities, shows them and grants or revokes consent to share them.
- A PHR does not replace the clinic's record. ABDM says records are created and stored by the provider; the PHR links to them.
PHR stands for Personal Health Record. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's Electronic Health Record Standards for India 2016 define it in the glossary: "A personal health record or PHR is typically a health record that is initiated and maintained by an individual. An ideal PHR would provide a complete and accurate summary of the health and medical history of an individual by gathering data from many sources and making this information accessible online." The same document describes it as information "that patients themselves may view, carry, amend, annotate, or maintain". The owner of a PHR is the patient; that is what separates it from the records a clinic keeps.
What is the difference between PHR, EMR and EHR?
The three are told apart by who keeps the record and how wide it reaches. The 2016 standard treats the EMR as "a special case of the EHR, restricted in scope to the medical domain", and the EHR as a "longitudinal collection of health information from all sources".
| PHR | EMR | EHR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who keeps it | The patient | One clinic or hospital | Joined from many providers |
| Scope | Whatever the person gathers: reports, prescriptions, vaccinations | That provider's visits, findings and prescriptions | Lifelong, all sources |
| Indian example | ABHA app, Aarogya Setu | The clinic's software or case files | Records linked to an ABHA across facilities |
The EMR and EHR are defined in their own entries: EMR and EHR vs EMR.
What is a PHR app under ABDM?
ABDM FAQ 320 says: "A PHR application is a mobile based citizen centric application used to manage and share electronic health records. Accordingly, an ABHA application is also a citizen centric PHR application launched by the Government of India." It lists what the app does: "create ABHA Address/Number, discover and link health records created at the local facility visited by them, view them, grant consent to share the health records and also offer long term storage of these health records in the mobile application". FAQ 334 adds that the ABHA app is "a reference application developed by NHA" and that "the user can opt for any ABDM enabled PHR application from the open market", naming Aarogya Setu, Driefcase, EkaCare and Paytm. FAQ 337 lists seven record types viewable in the ABHA app: diagnostic reports, discharge summary, OP consultation notes, prescriptions, immunization records, wellness records and health documents.
The ABHA address the app creates (for example ajay@abdm) is called a PHR address in the FAQ; see ABHA for the number and the address.
Does a patient's PHR replace the clinic's record?
No. ABDM FAQ 292 says "Health records are always created and stored by healthcare providers within their internal ecosystem as per their retention policies." The PHR app links to those records and shows the patient a copy after consent. The clinic's duty under NMC regulation 1.3 to keep records and supply them within 72 hours on request is unchanged; see medical record.
What does a PHR look like at a small OPD?
A patient opens the ABHA app at the counter of a one-doctor clinic and shows last month's blood report from a lab that is on ABDM. The doctor reads it on the patient's phone. Whether today's prescription also lands in the patient's PHR depends on whether this clinic is ABDM-registered and uses ABDM-enabled software; if it is not, the prescription is printed and handed over as usual, and the patient may photograph it into their own records. Either way the clinic writes its own case note and keeps it.
Questions
What is the full form of PHR in healthcare?
Personal Health Record. The MoHFW EHR Standards for India 2016 define it as a health record initiated and maintained by an individual.
Is the ABHA app a PHR?
Yes. ABDM FAQ 320 states that the ABHA application "is also a citizen centric PHR application launched by the Government of India".
What is a PHR address?
The ABHA address, such as ajay@abdm. ABDM FAQ 281 says it "can be created for the purpose of an individual's Personal Health Records (PHR)" and can be linked to the 14-digit ABHA number.
Sources
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Electronic Health Record (EHR) Standards for India 2016, Standards Set Recommendations v2.0, glossary entries for PHR, EMR and EHR (accessed 30 Oct 2026)
- National Health Authority, ABDM Frequently Asked Questions, entries 281, 292, 320, 334 and 337 (read through the site's FAQ data feed) (accessed 30 Oct 2026)
This is operational guidance for clinics, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with your state authority, council or CA.
Drafted with AI assistance; every fact checked against the sources listed; reviewed by the Vitels team.