1. The Open Network for Digital Healthcare
Just as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) democratized financial transactions across India, the Unified Health Interface (UHI)—an open network protocol developed under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)—democratizes healthcare delivery. UHI enables patients using any consumer health app to discover, book, and consult with doctors registered on any hospital system nationwide.
2. The Beckn Protocol Architecture in Healthcare
UHI is built atop the decentralized, open-source Beckn protocol. The network comprises End-User Applications (EUAs), Health Service Providers (HSPs - hospitals and teleconsultation clinics), and a decentralized Gateway. Inter-network communication relies on standardized JSON schema APIs: /search, /select, /init, /confirm, /status, and /cancel.
3. Discovery, Catalog Publishing, and Booking
Hospital systems acting as HSPs publish machine-readable clinical catalogs defining available doctor specialties, consultation slots, languages spoken, and consultation fees. When a patient searches for a cardiologist in their EUA app, the UHI gateway broadcasts the query; matching hospital gateways respond with verified availability tokens.
4. WebRTC Teleconsultation and Prescription Exchange
Upon booking confirmation, UHI orchestrates the teleconsultation: exchanging encrypted WebRTC video room tokens and routing the patient directly to the doctor's interface. Following the call, the hospital HIMS generates a FHIR-compliant digital prescription, signing it with the doctor's digital credentials and committing it to the patient's ABHA record.
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