A hospital does not usually replace its entire software system just because it needs ABDM integration.
In most cases, the hospital already has an HMIS, EMR, billing software, laboratory system, or another application that its staff uses every day. The real requirement is to connect that existing software with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) and make the required health data available through the appropriate ABDM workflows.
That is where ABDM integration platforms come into the picture.
Different platforms take different approaches. Some platforms focus mainly on ABDM integration. Others offer ABDM features as part of their larger healthcare software.
Here are five platforms worth considering.
1. ABDM Connector
ABDM Connector is built around a fairly simple idea: an existing healthcare application should be able to connect with ABDM without having to rebuild its core software.
The platform provides an integration layer between healthcare software and ABDM. Its features include ABHA integration, consent-based data sharing, health record exchange, HIP and HIU integration, secure APIs, diagnostic report connectivity, data mapping, webhooks, and audit tracking.
This approach is particularly relevant for a company that already has its own healthcare product.
For example, suppose a HealthTech company has an EMR or clinic management application. Its developers may not want to spend months building every ABDM-related component themselves. A connector can handle much of the integration work while the company's team continues working on its main product.
The platform also supports sandbox testing before production, which is important because ABDM integration involves more than simply sending an API request. The development team has to deal with identity, consent, records, callbacks, data formats, authentication, and testing.
ABDM Connector can therefore be considered by:
Hospitals with an existing HMIS or EMR
HealthTech companies
Healthcare SaaS providers
Clinics and diagnostic businesses
EMR and EHR companies
Telemedicine platforms
Healthcare application developers
For these organizations, the main benefit is that ABDM integration can be treated as a separate technology layer rather than something that has to be developed from the ground up.
2. Eka Care
Eka Care has built its ABDM services for healthcare providers and digital health companies. The APIs cover ABHA, consent, and health record sharing. Along with these services, Eka Care also has its own healthcare products used by doctors and hospitals. So, it is not only working on the technical side of ABDM. The company also works with doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare businesses.
For a healthcare company that wants ABDM support along with other digital health services, Eka Care is one of the platforms worth looking at. Its ABDM APIs are therefore part of a wider healthcare technology offering.
For a company building a digital health product, Eka Care can be an option when it needs ABDM connectivity along with other healthcare services. Developers can also use its documentation to understand the different steps involved in moving an integration from testing to production.
For organizations that already have their own HMIS or healthcare application, the main thing to check would be how easily Eka Care's APIs can fit into the existing system and workflows.
3. DRiefcase
DRiefcase takes a different route.
Its platform is focused strongly on digital health records and personal health record use cases. DRiefcase allows users to link medical records with their ABHA and share those records with healthcare providers through consent-based processes.
The platform also offers products for doctors and healthcare providers, in addition to its health-record application for individuals. Its website describes the company as working on ABDM-linked applications for both Health Information Providers and Health Information Users.
That makes DRiefcase particularly interesting for use cases where the patient record itself is an important part of the product.
For a healthcare organization evaluating the platform, the key question would be whether its record-sharing approach fits the organization's existing software and patient workflow.
A company building a patient-facing health record product may have very different needs from a hospital that simply wants to connect its existing HMIS to ABDM.
4. e-Hospital by NIC
The National Informatics Centre's e-Hospital is another important name when discussing ABDM-enabled hospital software.
e-Hospital is a hospital information management system covering areas such as patient registration, OPD, IPD, billing, clinical workflows, laboratory services, radiology, and other hospital functions. The official e-Hospital website states that the system is integrated with the ABDM ecosystem.
The NextGen e-Hospital system developed by NIC is also described as a cloud-based HMIS designed for hospital workflows. NIC says the system is used by more than 1,575 hospitals.
This is a slightly different proposition from a standalone ABDM integration platform.
Instead of simply adding ABDM connectivity to an existing healthcare application, e-Hospital is itself a hospital management system.
That makes it more relevant for organizations considering their overall hospital software setup, particularly in the government healthcare space.
A hospital already running another HMIS, however, may have a different requirement. In that situation, an integration layer may be more relevant than replacing the existing system.
5. Bahmni
Bahmni is an open-source hospital information system and electronic medical record platform.
Bahmni has also been integrated with ABDM. Its documentation describes support for HIP and HIU workflows, including capturing and verifying ABHA, sharing medical records, and viewing patient records after consent.
Bahmni's ABDM integration is provided through additional components that work with the core Bahmni product. Its documentation also provides Docker-based setup instructions for running Bahmni with ABDM services.
What Should a Company Look for in an ABDM Integration Platform?
The answer depends on what the organization already has.
A hospital with an existing HMIS may need something different from a HealthTech startup building a new application. A diagnostic company may have another set of requirements.
A few questions can help narrow down the options.
Does it work with the existing software?
This is probably the first question to ask.
If the organization already has an HMIS, EMR, EHR, laboratory application, or another healthcare product, replacing it may not be practical.
In that case, the integration platform should be able to sit alongside the existing software and exchange the required information.
Does it support the required ABDM workflows?
Not every organization needs every ABDM capability.
Depending on the product, the requirement could include:
ABHA creation and verification
Health record linking
HIP services
HIU services
Consent workflows
Health Facility Registry connectivity
Healthcare Professional Registry workflows
FHIR-based data exchange
Notifications and callbacks
The company should first identify which workflows it actually needs and then compare platforms against those requirements.
How much development work is involved?
A platform may look simple from the outside, but the development work can become complicated once testing starts.
ABDM's current developer documentation describes multiple integration milestones and separate sandbox and production processes. Functional testing, security assessment, and production approval are also part of the go-live process.
For a smaller technology team, having APIs, documentation, data mapping, and implementation support available can make a meaningful difference.
What happens to existing healthcare data?
Healthcare applications rarely store information in exactly the same structure.
A hospital may have its own database and clinical data model. The integration layer may need to transform that information into the required format before it can be exchanged.
That is why data mapping should be discussed early rather than treated as a final development task.
Is there proper support after integration?
Getting an integration working in a sandbox is only one part of the project.
The system eventually has to work with real users and real hospital workflows.
A company should therefore ask about production support, troubleshooting, monitoring, documentation, and what happens when an API call or callback fails.
Why the Integration Layer Matters
ABDM integration is sometimes described as an API integration project. In practice, there is more to it.
A healthcare application may need to identify a patient, connect the patient's ABHA, attach care contexts, request or respond to consent, exchange records, handle callbacks, and keep track of what happened during the process.
ABDM's current documentation describes the flow across identity, consent, health records, and provider/facility identifiers.
This is where an integration layer can help.
The hospital does not have to change its main software. The ABDM work can be handled separately through the integration layer.
For a company that already has a working healthcare product, that can be a practical way to add ABDM support without disturbing the rest of the application.
Which Type of Platform Fits Which Organization?
There is no need to treat these platforms as direct substitutes for one another.
Their approaches are different.
PlatformGeneral approachMay suit ABDM Connector ABDM integration layer for existing healthcare softwareHMIS, EMR, EHR and HealthTech companies Eka Care Digital health platform with ABDM APIsHealthcare and digital health applications DRiefcase Digital health records and ABDM-linked applicationsHealth record and patient-facing use cases e-Hospital by NIC Full hospital management system with ABDM integrationHospitals, particularly government healthcare environments Bahmni Open-source hospital information system with ABDM integrationHospitals and organizations seeking an open-source option
The important point is that an organization should not select a platform simply because it supports ABDM.
It should first understand how ABDM needs to fit into the existing business and technology setup.
Final Thoughts
ABDM integration is becoming a practical requirement for many healthcare software companies and providers in India.
But integration does not necessarily mean replacing the software that is already being used.
For a hospital, it may mean connecting an existing HMIS. For a HealthTech company, it may mean adding ABDM capabilities to an existing SaaS product. For another organization, a complete digital health platform may make more sense.
That is why the five platforms discussed above take different approaches.
ABDM Connector is particularly focused on the first situation: helping an existing healthcare application connect with ABDM through an integration layer. Its features cover areas such as ABHA, consent, health records, HIP and HIU workflows, APIs, data mapping, and testing.
For companies that already have their own healthcare software, this can save a lot of development work. They can use the platform for ABDM-related needs instead of building everything on their own.
The choice of a platform should mainly depend on whether it works well with the company’s existing software and workflows. Its ABDM requirements should also be checked before making a decision. A long list of features does not always mean the platform will be the right fit.
This makes Bahmni worth looking at for organizations that prefer an open-source hospital information system and have the technical resources to manage and customize the software.
It is also a good example of how ABDM can be added to an existing healthcare application architecture rather than treated as a completely separate hospital system.
