---
title: "ABDM HIU Data Pull"
description: "How to pull patient health records from other ABDM-connected providers in NICE HMS — make consent requests, track patient approval, and view fetched FHIR records."
date: 2026-07-19
lastModified: 2026-07-19
category: "abdm"
author: "Dr. Umesh Bilagi"
beta: false
---

## Overview

HIU (Health Information User) data pull lets you request a patient's health records from other ABDM-connected facilities — with the patient's explicit consent. The patient approves or denies the request from their PHR app. Once granted, the other facility pushes encrypted FHIR data to NICE HMS, where you can view it.

## Where to Find It

From the sidebar, click **Health Information User**. This panel has two pages:

- **Create Request** — Start a new consent request for a patient
- **Get Data By ABHA Address** — Check status of past requests and view fetched records

Available to **Admin**, **Director**, and **Doctor** roles.

## Prerequisites

- Your facility must have ABDM integration enabled (`ABDMFacilityId`). See [ABDM Setup](/docs/abdm-setup).
- The patient must have an ABHA address with care contexts linked at other facilities.
- The other facility must be ABDM-connected and capable of pushing health records (HIP-enabled).

## Step 1: Create a Consent Request

1. Go to **Health Information User** → **Create Request**.
2. Fill in the form:

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| **ABHA Address** | The patient's ABHA address (e.g., `patient@abdm`) |
| **Data From** | Start date for records you want to pull (defaults to 1990-01-01) |
| **Data To** | End date for records (defaults to today) |
| **Data EraseAt** | When the pulled records should be automatically deleted — ABDM compliance requirement. Must be a future date, up to 75 years from now. |
| **Services** | Which record types to pull. All 8 types are pre-selected: DiagnosticReport, DischargeSummary, HealthDocumentRecord, ImmunizationRecord, Invoice, OPConsultation, Prescription, WellnessRecord. Deselect any you don't need. |

3. Click **Submit**.

The purpose is always **Care Management** and access mode is **View** — these are set automatically.

## Step 2: Patient Gives Consent

After you submit:

1. The consent request is sent to the patient's PHR app via the ABDM Consent Manager.
2. The patient reviews and approves or denies the request from their PHR app.
3. This is entirely in the patient's hands — they may respond immediately or it may take an hour or more. NICE HMS has no control over this timing.

There is no SMS OTP. Consent happens entirely within the patient's PHR app.

## Step 3: Data Transfer

Once the patient grants consent:

1. NICE HMS generates encryption keys and sends a health-information request.
2. The other facility (HIP) pushes the encrypted patient records to NICE HMS.
3. Data is encrypted end-to-end per the ABDM V3 protocol — only your facility can decrypt and view it.
4. Depending on data volume and the other facility's response time, transfer may take a minute or so.

## Step 4: View Fetched Records

Fetched records are displayed on a dedicated HIU page — they are **not** merged into the patient's main profile.

1. Go to **Health Information User** → **Get Data By ABHA Address**.
2. Enter the patient's ABHA address and click **Submit**.
3. You see a table of all consent requests for that ABHA: Consent ID, Date, and Status.
4. Click a consent ID to open the display page.
5. If the status is **GRANTED** (shown in green), the fetched records are displayed in a paginated table.
6. Each record includes these sections where applicable:
   - Patient demographics
   - Document references (discharge summaries, reports)
   - Conditions (diagnoses)
   - Observations (lab results, vitals)
   - Medication requests (prescriptions)
   - Immunizations
   - Immunization recommendations
   - Invoices

If the status is **DENIED** or **EXPIRED** (shown in red), no records are available.

## Data Expiry

Pulled records automatically become inaccessible after the **Data EraseAt** date you set during the consent request. This is enforced by ABDM compliance — once the date passes, the records no longer appear in the display. No manual deletion is needed.

## Common Issues

- **No records appear after GRANTED status:** The data transfer may take a minute or so. If records still don't appear, the data size may have exceeded the 285 MB limit. Contact support.
- **Consent shows EXPIRED:** The patient did not respond within the validity window. Create a new consent request.
- **Consent shows DENIED:** The patient declined the request. You cannot override this.

## FAQ

**Q: Can I pull records without patient consent?**
A: No. Patient consent is mandatory and enforced by the ABDM gateway.

**Q: Where do pulled records appear — in the patient's main record?**
A: No. Pulled records are viewed from **Health Information User → Get Data By ABHA Address**. They are not merged into the patient's NICE HMS profile.

**Q: How long does the consent process take?**
A: It depends on the patient. They may approve immediately, or it may take an hour or more. NICE HMS has no control over this. After consent is granted, data transfer takes roughly a minute depending on data volume and the other facility's response time.

**Q: What if the patient revokes consent later?**
A: If consent is revoked, new fetches require fresh consent. Previously pulled records remain accessible until their Data EraseAt date passes.

**Q: What format are the records in?**
A: FHIR R4 bundles, encrypted end-to-end. NICE HMS decrypts and displays them in a human-readable format.

**Q: Can I request records from a specific facility?**
A: No. The consent request is sent to the ABDM network broadly. Any HIP with matching care contexts for that ABHA address can respond. You cannot target a specific hospital or lab.