Under the NHA Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) as revised by Corrigendum 7, valid April–September 2026, a hospital earns ₹10 for every discharge summary or diagnostic report and ₹5 for every other health record it links to a KYC-verified ABHA, counted only above its first 100 eligible records each month. It also earns ₹10 for each consent-based record request it makes that results in records being shared (₹5 when it is the source of the records), and ₹200 or 10% of the claim amount, whichever is lower, for each Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY claim filed through NHCX. For a typical 50-bed hospital, record linking works out to roughly ₹10,000 a month — worth collecting, but modest; the bigger reason to do the work is ABDM compliance.
DHIS is the National Health Authority's incentive scheme under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. It began on 1 January 2023 and its rates have been revised by corrigendum several times. The rules below are from Corrigendum 7, dated 9 April 2026, which applies to transactions from April to September 2026, subject to availability of funds. Rules checked on 24 September 2026 against the corrigendum published at abdm.gov.in/DHIS.
What a hospital earns under Corrigendum 7
| Transaction | Hospital earns | Key condition |
|---|---|---|
| Discharge summary or diagnostic report linked to a KYC-verified ABHA | ₹10 | Only above the first 100 eligible records a month |
| Any other record linked to a KYC-verified ABHA — prescription, OP consultation, immunisation record, health document, wellness record, invoice | ₹5 | Only above the first 100 eligible records a month |
| Consent-based request that results in records being shared, hospital as requester (HIU) | ₹10 | Patient approves the request; auto-consent does not count |
| Consent-based request, hospital as the source of the records (HIP) | ₹5 | Requester and source must be different facilities |
| Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY claim filed in FHIR format through NHCX, linked to ABHA | ₹200 or 10% of the claim, whichever is lower | Capped at ₹1 crore per facility; claims filed on TMS earn nothing |
The rules that decide whether a record counts
- KYC-verified ABHA only. A record earns only if the patient's ABHA address is KYC-verified, for example through Aadhaar, as of the last day of the month. Records linked to ABHAs without KYC earn nothing.
- The first 100 are deducted, lowest-value first. The incentive is calculated on all eligible records and then reduced by the value of the first 100, with ₹5 records deducted before ₹10 ones. A hospital with 100 or fewer eligible records in a month earns nothing for record linking.
- One per ABHA per day, five per ABHA per month, per facility, across categories. A patient whose prescription and lab report are both linked on the same visit counts once. Record linking and consent-based sharing are limited separately.
- A record with several HI types counts at ₹10 if at least one of them is a discharge summary or diagnostic report.
- Scan and Share tokens and health-locker uploads earn nothing as record linking.
- A hospital's software must be integrated with ABDM up to Milestone M3, the stage at which it can also request records as an HIU. Labs, diagnostic centres and pharmacies qualify at M2. See ABDM milestones explained.
- From July 2026 the software must also be on ABDM's v3 APIs for M1, M2 and M3. Transactions on software that is not fully v3-compliant earn nothing for the hospital or the vendor.
- Register on the DHIS portal (dhis.abdm.gov.in) with a verified Health Facility Registry entry. Claims start from the month of registration, and back-dated claims are accepted only for the last three months.
- Caps: ₹5 crore per facility across the scheme, and ₹1 crore for the PM-JAY claims incentive.
PM-JAY claims through NHCX: ₹200 or 10%, whichever is lower
The largest per-transaction figure in the scheme is for Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY claims, but only for claims filed in FHIR format through the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) and linked to the patient's ABHA. The hospital earns ₹200 per claim or 10% of the claim amount, whichever is lower: a ₹1,500 claim earns ₹150, and any claim of ₹2,000 or more earns ₹200. Corrigendum 6 (November 2025) had allowed up to ₹500 per claim. The incentive is capped at ₹1 crore per facility.
Claims submitted on the PM-JAY TMS portal earn nothing, however they were prepared. Before counting on this incentive, ask any software vendor whether your PM-JAY claims actually go through NHCX in production today — not in a sandbox, and not as a roadmap item. Our NHCX integration guide explains what that involves.
A worked example: 50-bed hospital
Assume a 50-bed hospital with about 250 discharges and 3,000 OPD visits a month. The counts below include only patients with a KYC-verified ABHA and are already within the per-ABHA limits. An OPD visit where both a prescription and a report are linked counts once, at the lower ₹5 rate, to keep the estimate conservative.
| Record linking in a month | Records | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discharge summaries (150 of 250 discharges) | 150 | ₹10 | ₹1,500 |
| Diagnostic reports for patients who came only for tests | 300 | ₹10 | ₹3,000 |
| OPD prescriptions (40% of 3,000 visits) | 1,200 | ₹5 | ₹6,000 |
| Total before the baseline | 1,650 | ₹10,500 | |
| Less the first 100, lowest-value first (100 prescriptions) | −100 | ₹5 | −₹500 |
| Incentive for the month | 1,550 | ₹10,000 |
The arithmetic: (150 + 300) × ₹10 = ₹4,500; 1,200 × ₹5 = ₹6,000; ₹4,500 + ₹6,000 − (100 × ₹5) = ₹10,000 a month. Inpatient lab reports and consent-based sharing are left out and would add a little more.
Two things move the figure most. The first is KYC coverage: if only 150 prescriptions a month were linked to KYC-verified ABHAs, the baseline would absorb two-thirds of them and the hospital would earn (150 − 100) × ₹5 = ₹250. The second is NHCX: if the same hospital filed 40 PM-JAY claims a month through NHCX, each of ₹2,000 or more, that would add 40 × ₹200 = ₹8,000, but only through NHCX, never through TMS.
The honest summary: record linking pays a 50-bed hospital around ₹10,000 a month. It will not pay for the hospital's software and should not be the reason to choose one. Its real value is that the same linked records are your ABDM compliance evidence, with the incentive on top.
What changed in 2026
- From a flat rate to a rate per record type. Earlier versions of the scheme paid a single flat rate, ₹20, for every eligible transaction above the monthly baseline. Corrigendum 7 pays ₹10 for discharge summaries and diagnostic reports and ₹5 for every other record, so the same volume now earns between a quarter and half of what older articles quote.
- KYC-verified ABHAs only. Records linked to ABHAs without KYC, Scan and Share transactions and health-locker uploads no longer earn.
- NHCX claims: from ₹500 to ₹200. The PM-JAY claim incentive fell from up to ₹500 per claim under Corrigendum 6 (November 2025) to ₹200 or 10% of the claim, whichever is lower.
- ABDM v3 APIs are mandatory from July 2026 for any incentive to be paid.
- The ₹2,500 minimum payout is gone. Incentives no longer wait until the cumulative amount crosses ₹2,500.
Valid April–September 2026 only. Corrigendum 7 applies to transactions from April to September 2026, subject to availability of funds. Every earlier corrigendum extended the scheme by six to twelve months at a time, so whether DHIS continues after September 2026, and at what rates, is not guaranteed. Rules checked on 24 September 2026; check abdm.gov.in/DHIS for a newer corrigendum before planning around the money.
Why eligible hospitals earn nothing
- ABHAs are created without KYC. A mobile-only ABHA created to clear the desk earns nothing, however many records are linked to it.
- ABHA is created but nothing is linked. The prescription, report and summary never reach the patient's ABHA. Zero eligible records.
- The software is "ABDM-ready" but not integrated. A vendor with a sandbox registration is not a vendor integrated up to M3 in production, and from July 2026 it must be on the v3 APIs as well.
- The hospital never registered on the DHIS portal, or its HFR entry is unverified or does not match the facility ID in the software.
- Nobody owns it. Back-dated claims are accepted only for three months, so a quarter without a claim is money lost for good.
- Counts sit below the baseline because ABHA capture is optional at the desk instead of the default.
How to make DHIS routine
- Make a KYC-verified ABHA the default at registration, created or verified through Aadhaar OTP in under a minute. Scan and Share at the entrance speeds up registration, but the token itself earns nothing; what counts is the record you later link. See Scan and Share registration.
- Link every record automatically. The OPD prescription, lab report and discharge summary should be pushed to the ABHA as a side-effect of saving them — no separate "link" step for staff.
- Get consent right once, in the registration workflow, so linking is lawful under both ABDM and DPDP.
- File the claim every month on the DHIS portal, and compare the eligible count with your discharges and OPD volume; the gap is unclaimed money and a compliance gap at the same time.
- Keep HFR, HPR and software facility IDs in sync so transactions are attributed to you.
DHIS is also your ABDM compliance evidence
The incentive is modest; the linked-record count behind it matters more. It is what a state directive or a PM-JAY empanelment review will ask for as proof of ABDM adoption. Enforcement is moving state by state, and PM-JAY hospitals are the first group where ABDM readiness affects claims. A hospital that files a DHIS claim every month already has the evidence. Our ABDM compliance checklist lists the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Digital Health Incentive Scheme?
DHIS is a National Health Authority scheme under ABDM that pays health facilities and their software vendors for digital health transactions. Under Corrigendum 7 (9 April 2026), valid April–September 2026, a hospital earns ₹10 per discharge summary or diagnostic report and ₹5 per other record linked to a KYC-verified ABHA above the first 100 a month, ₹10 or ₹5 for consent-based record sharing, and ₹200 or 10% (whichever is lower) per PM-JAY claim filed through NHCX.
How much does DHIS pay per record in 2026?
₹10 for a discharge summary or diagnostic report and ₹5 for any other health record, provided it is linked to a KYC-verified ABHA. The value of the first 100 eligible records each month is deducted, lowest-value first, and only one record per ABHA per day and five per ABHA per month count at each facility. A typical 50-bed hospital earns around ₹10,000 a month from record linking.
Which transactions earn the DHIS incentive?
Health records linked to a KYC-verified ABHA through ABDM-integrated software — discharge summaries, lab and radiology reports, prescriptions, OP consultation records, immunisation records, invoices and similar — plus consent-based record requests that result in sharing, and PM-JAY claims filed through NHCX. Creating an ABHA alone, Scan and Share tokens and health-locker uploads do not count.
Does DHIS pay hospitals for PM-JAY claims?
Only for claims filed in FHIR format through NHCX and linked to the patient's ABHA: ₹200 per claim or 10% of the claim amount, whichever is lower, capped at ₹1 crore per facility. Claims filed on the TMS portal earn nothing, so ask your software vendor whether your claims actually go through NHCX.
Are private hospitals eligible for DHIS?
Yes, on the same terms as public facilities. The hospital's software must be integrated with ABDM up to Milestone M3 (labs and pharmacies need M2) and, from July 2026, on ABDM's v3 APIs, and the hospital must register on the DHIS portal.
How is the DHIS incentive claimed and paid?
The hospital registers on the DHIS portal and claims month by month; eligible transactions are counted from ABDM's own records, and the incentive is paid to the registered bank account. Back-dated claims are accepted only for the last three months, and the old ₹2,500 minimum payout no longer applies.
Will DHIS continue after September 2026?
Not guaranteed. Corrigendum 7 covers April–September 2026, subject to availability of funds. Earlier corrigenda each extended the scheme by six to twelve months, but treat any rate for October 2026 onwards as unconfirmed until NHA publishes a new corrigendum on abdm.gov.in/DHIS.
Link records without adding a step
Healthixio is integrated with ABDM up to Milestones M1, M2 and M3: ABHA creation and verification at reception, and automatic linking of OPD prescriptions, lab reports and discharge summaries to the patient's ABHA with consent — the records DHIS pays for. See the ABDM module or our ABDM page, and ask us for a DHIS estimate based on your discharges and OPD volume.