The Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) is the National Health Authority's program that pays hospitals, clinics, labs, and diagnostic centers real money for linking patient records to ABHA health accounts under ABDM. As of the April–September 2026 window (Corrigendum 7), facilities earn Rs.10 per KYC-verified ABHA-linked discharge summary or diagnostic report and Rs.5 for other record types, payable only above 100 record-linking transactions per month, with an overall cap of up to Rs.4 lakh. This guide explains the current rates, the fine print that decides whether you actually get paid, and what your hospital software must support to claim any of it.
What DHIS Is, in One Minute
ABDM (Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission) wants every Indian health record linked to the patient's ABHA number. Mandates push from one side — and DHIS pays from the other. Launched in January 2023, the scheme compensates facilities and digital solution companies for the operational effort of creating ABHA-linked, consent-based digital health records.
The important context: DHIS has been revised seven times since launch, and its scope has narrowed with each corrigendum. Early versions paid more per record; the current window pays less, with tighter verification rules and an explicit funds-availability clause. Two takeaways follow from that: the money is real but shrinking, and facilities that integrate early capture more of it than facilities that wait.
Current DHIS Rates (April–September 2026, Corrigendum 7)
| Item | Incentive |
|---|---|
| KYC-verified ABHA-linked discharge summary | Rs.10 per record |
| KYC-verified ABHA-linked diagnostic report | Rs.10 per record |
| Other ABHA-linked record types (OPD notes, prescriptions, etc.) | Rs.5 per record |
| Monthly threshold | Incentives apply only above 100 record-linking transactions/month |
| Per-patient limits | 1 transaction per ABHA per day, 5 per ABHA per month |
| Overall cap | Up to Rs.4 lakh |
| Window | April 2026 – September 2026, subject to availability of funds |
Three rules in that table quietly decide everything:
- Only KYC-verified ABHA records count. An ABHA created with just a mobile number is not enough — the patient's account must be KYC-verified (Aadhaar-based). Your registration workflow needs to handle this, not just generate a number.
- The first 100 transactions each month earn nothing. The threshold resets monthly. Small facilities linking 80 records a month earn zero; the scheme is built to reward consistent volume.
- Per-ABHA limits stop gaming. Linking five documents to one patient in one visit counts once that day. Volume must come from breadth of patients, not depth per patient.
Because the scheme is revised every few months, treat every number in this post as "current window" — and verify against the NHA's DHIS portal before building financial projections on it.
A Realistic Earnings Example
Take a 100-bed hospital with an active lab:
| Activity | Monthly Volume | Eligible Records (after per-ABHA limits) | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discharge summaries linked | 400 | ~380 | Rs.10 | Rs.3,800 |
| Diagnostic reports linked | 2,500 | ~2,000 | Rs.10 | Rs.20,000 |
| OPD records/prescriptions linked | 3,000 | ~2,200 | Rs.5 | Rs.11,000 |
| Indicative monthly total | ~Rs.34,800 |
Roughly Rs.30,000–35,000 a month for a hospital of this size — before the Rs.4 lakh cap, and assuming clean KYC-verified linking. That will not transform a hospital's finances, but it comfortably exceeds a Rs.4,999–7,999/month software subscription, which reframes the ABDM integration question: the government is effectively paying facilities to digitise, for as long as the window stays open.
A small clinic linking 60 records a month, by contrast, earns nothing — it never crosses the 100-transaction threshold. DHIS is a volume scheme.
What Your HMS Must Actually Do
Claiming DHIS is not a form you fill — it is a technical capability chain your software must implement end to end:
- HFR registration — your facility exists in the Health Facility Registry with an HFR ID
- ABHA creation and verification at registration — patients get or link a KYC-verified ABHA number at the front desk (ABDM milestone M1)
- Record linking as a Health Information Provider (HIP) — discharge summaries, reports, and prescriptions pushed to the patient's ABHA account in ABDM's consent-based, FHIR-compliant format (milestone M2)
- Transaction reporting — linked-record transactions counted and verifiable against NHA's records
Steps 3 is where most Indian HMS products currently fall short — many can create ABHA numbers but cannot yet link records, and ABHA creation alone earns nothing under the current corrigendum. When evaluating any vendor (ours included), the question to ask is precise: "Which ABDM milestones are live in production today, and when does record linking ship?"
Where Softpital stands, honestly: ABHA ID generation and verification at patient registration (M1) is live. Record linking (M2) — the part that earns DHIS incentives — is in active development with rollout expected in H2 2026, inside the current DHIS window. Facilities on Softpital today are building the KYC-verified ABHA base that record linking will monetise the day it ships. Our ABDM & DPDP compliance guide covers the full milestone map.
Why This Matters Beyond the Money
The incentive is the carrot; the timeline is the stick. HIP registration mandates have already expanded to NABH-accredited hospitals and state-empanelled clinics, ABDM compliance is becoming mandatory for AB-PMJAY hospitals in 2026, and full ABDM compliance is expected to be mandatory for all hospitals by 2027. Facilities empanelled under PM-JAY and CGHS already face ABHA-compatibility requirements.
So the real DHIS calculation is not "is Rs.35,000/month worth it" — it is "we will have to do this anyway; the window where the government pays us for it is now."
How to Get Started This Quarter
- Register on HFR (free, and required for everything else) and get your doctors on HPR
- Start issuing KYC-verified ABHAs at registration — build the linked-patient base now
- Ask your HMS vendor for their M2/HIP timeline in writing — no record linking, no incentives
- Track your monthly linkable-record volume — discharges + reports + OPD records — to know what you would earn above the 100-transaction threshold
- Check the DHIS portal quarterly — rates and rules change with each corrigendum, and the current window closes in September 2026 unless extended
FAQ
Q: What is the Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS)? A: DHIS is the National Health Authority's scheme that pays healthcare facilities for creating ABHA-linked digital health records under ABDM. In the April–September 2026 window, hospitals earn Rs.10 per KYC-verified ABHA-linked discharge summary or diagnostic report and Rs.5 for other record types, above a threshold of 100 transactions per month.
Q: How much can a hospital earn from DHIS in 2026? A: A mid-size hospital linking a few thousand records monthly can earn roughly Rs.20,000–40,000 per month under current rates, capped at up to Rs.4 lakh. Small facilities below 100 record-linking transactions a month earn nothing — the scheme rewards consistent volume. Rates change by corrigendum, so verify current terms on the NHA DHIS portal.
Q: Do ABHA registrations alone earn DHIS incentives? A: Not under the current window. Incentives are paid for linked records — discharge summaries, diagnostic reports, and other documents attached to a KYC-verified ABHA account — not for creating ABHA numbers. Software that only generates ABHA IDs (ABDM milestone M1) cannot earn DHIS money until it also supports record linking (M2/HIP).
Q: What does an HMS need to support to claim DHIS incentives? A: Four things: facility registration in the Health Facility Registry, KYC-verified ABHA creation at patient registration, record linking as a Health Information Provider in ABDM's FHIR-compliant consent framework, and verifiable transaction counts. Ask any vendor which ABDM milestones are live in production today.
Q: Is ABDM integration mandatory for hospitals in India? A: It is becoming so in stages. HIP registration mandates already cover NABH-accredited hospitals and state-empanelled clinics, AB-PMJAY hospitals face ABDM compliance requirements in 2026, and full compliance is expected to be mandatory for all hospitals by 2027. DHIS is the incentive phase before mandates fully arrive.
Q: Will DHIS rates stay the same? A: Almost certainly not. The scheme has been revised seven times since January 2023, generally narrowing — earlier corrigenda paid more per record than the current Rs.10/Rs.5 rates. The current window runs April–September 2026 subject to funds. Facilities that integrate earlier capture more of the scheme before it tightens further.
The Bottom Line
DHIS is the Indian government paying hospitals to do what will soon be mandatory anyway: link patient records to ABHA accounts. The rates are modest, the rules are strict, and the window keeps narrowing — which is exactly why the right move is early, not perfect. Register on HFR, start issuing KYC-verified ABHAs today, and hold your software vendor to a written record-linking timeline. Book a demo to see ABHA-ready registration working, and ask us the M2 question directly — we will give you a straight answer.
Data & Sources
All Softpital product data in this article — module count, pricing, role permissions, appointment types, and deployment options — is sourced from Softpital's official product documentation, updated September 2026.