DHIS 2026: what the NHA now pays per ABHA-linked record

The National Health Authority issued Corrigendum 7 to the Digital Health Incentive Scheme on 9 April 2026, covering transactions from April to September 2026. It pays hospitals, labs and clinics ₹10 or ₹5 per KYC-verified ABHA-linked record above 100 a month, pays the software company a share, and replaces the flat ₹20 rate of the previous corrigendum. This article sets out the rates, the conditions and what the money adds up to.

What the scheme is

DHIS was launched on 1 January 2023 to promote ABDM adoption by paying for digital health transactions, with operational guidelines issued on 17 January 2023. It has been amended by corrigenda since April 2023. The sixth, dated 20 November 2025, covered November 2025 to March 2026. The seventh, dated 9 April 2026, covers April to September 2026. Eligibility is unchanged: all public and private health facilities and digital solution companies, meaning the vendors whose software creates the records. The minimum threshold of 100 eligible transactions a month is also unchanged.

The rates from April 2026

Source: Corrigendum 7, 9 April 2026. Two things changed from Corrigendum 6. The flat ₹20 per KYC-linked record for facilities has been split into ₹10 for reports and discharge summaries and ₹5 for everything else, and the NHCX claim incentive fell from ₹500 per claim or 10 percent to ₹200 or 10 percent. Incentives for Scan and Share and health lockers, discontinued in November 2025, stay discontinued. The corrigendum lists encouraging private participation, promoting KYC-linked records, strengthening consent-based sharing and compliance with the v3 APIs as its aims.

How the 100-record threshold works

Incentives are calculated on all eligible transactions and then reduced by the value of the first 100, with the lowest-value transactions deducted first. The corrigendum's own illustration: a clinic that links 70 discharge summaries and 80 OPD prescriptions in May 2026 earns ₹700 plus ₹400, loses ₹400 for the 80 prescriptions and ₹200 for 20 of the discharge summaries, and is paid ₹500; its software vendor is paid ₹250. A lab that links 500 KYC-verified reports in a month earns 500 times ₹10, less ₹1,000 for the first 100, which is ₹4,000.

• Only records linked to KYC-verified ABHA addresses count, and KYC status on the last day of the transaction month is what is checked, whatever the claim date.
• A record with several types counts as Category 1 if any of them is a diagnostic report or discharge summary.
• A software company earns only when the facility crosses 100 transactions and the company has at least 10 facilities linking records in the month.
• Back-dated claims are limited to the previous three months; a claim filed in August 2026 can cover May, June and July.
• The earlier rule that paid out only once accumulated incentives crossed ₹2,500 no longer applies.
• Payments for April to September 2026 are subject to availability of funds.

All conditions above are from Corrigendum 7. For context, the NHA reported more than 100 crore ABHA-linked records in May 2026, and 2.72 lakh facilities using ABDM-enabled software by July.

What this means for hospitals and labs

The money is modest for a clinic and meaningful for a lab or a busy hospital. A pathology lab reporting 3,000 tests a month with a KYC-verified ABHA on every report would earn ₹30,000 less ₹1,000 for the first 100, or ₹29,000 a month at the Category 1 rate. A 100-bed hospital linking 400 discharge summaries and 4,000 OPD prescriptions earns ₹4,000 plus ₹20,000, less ₹500 for the first 100 prescriptions, which is ₹23,500 a month. Both are arithmetic on the published rates, and both depend on the KYC condition being met at registration.

The conditions push the whole design in one direction: KYC-verified ABHA at registration, structured reports with the right record type, and software on the v3 APIs. Scan-and-share and health-locker uploads earn nothing. The software company's share means your vendor has a direct interest in your linking rate, so ask how the vendor claims it and whether any of it is passed on.

1. Register the facility for DHIS on the ABDM portal and confirm the Health Facility Registry entry.
2. Make ABHA creation with KYC the default at registration, not an option the front desk skips when busy.
3. Check that reports and discharge summaries go out with the correct record type; a mislabelled report earns ₹5 instead of ₹10.
4. Pull the month's linked-record count on the first of the next month and file within three months.

Pathixio links every signed report to the patient's ABHA as a Diagnostic Report, and Healthixio does the same for discharge summaries and OPD prescriptions, so the count needed for a claim is a report, not a spreadsheet.

Frequently asked questions

Does a small clinic earn anything under DHIS?

Only above 100 eligible transactions in a month. A clinic linking 100 or fewer KYC-verified records earns nothing, and neither does its software vendor. Above that, the clinic earns ₹5 per OPD prescription or consultation and ₹10 per discharge summary or diagnostic report, after the value of the first 100 lowest-value records is deducted.

Why did the rate fall from ₹20 to ₹10?

Corrigendum 6, effective November 2025 to March 2026, paid ₹20 per KYC-linked record to a facility. Corrigendum 7 splits records by type: ₹10 for diagnostic reports and discharge summaries, ₹5 for other types. The NHA's stated aims are private participation, KYC-linked records, consent-based sharing and v3 API compliance; the document does not explain the rate change itself.

What is a KYC-verified ABHA?

An ABHA address whose holder has completed identity verification, as opposed to one created without it. Under Corrigendum 7 only records linked to KYC-verified ABHA addresses qualify for incentives, and the KYC status on the last day of the transaction month is what counts, whatever the date the claim is filed. Ask your software to show the KYC flag at registration.