oppn parties Digitizing Health Records Is Good, But Address Infrastructure Issues Simultaneously

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  • PM Modi says that if Congress is voted to power in Haryana, the state will face the same financial problems that Himachal is facing under the party's rule
  • Competition Commission of India has said that smartphone majors are colluding with e-commerce firms to exclusively launch products on their platforms in alleged breach of anti-trust laws
  • Supreme Court rules that delay in claiming compensation for land acquisition by the government is no excuse to deny it as it is the duty of the government to pay the compensation.
  • PM Modi said that terrorism was breathing its last in J&K
  • Conbgress has alleged that Sebi chief Madhabi Buch traded in listed securities and invested in China-focused funds during her tnure at the agency
  • India to sing $4bn Predator drone deal with US
  • Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has disclosed that the opposition parties backed him as Prime Minister in place of Narendra Modi but he refused.
  • Noted economist Ajit Ranade removed as VC of Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics in Pune due to not fulfilling eligibility criteria related to teaching experience
  • Chess Olympiad: Arjun Erigaisi wins his fourth consecutive game
  • Asian Champions Trophy hockey- India beat Pakistan 2-1 in a tough match to remain unbeaten in the group stage. They will meet Korea in the semifinals
  • Davis Cup: S Balaji and R Ramanathan lose, India 0-2 down on first day
  • Delhi Police arrested Sangram Dass, said to be the kingpin of an inter-state new-born baby tafficking racket, from Kolkata after a 1500-km chase
  • NC leader Omar Abdullah alleged that the B|JP was forging secret deals with some regional parties and independents to form the government in J&K
  • Rajasthan Police has devised a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), as directed by the Rajasthan HC, to help married and live-in couples facing threats from families and others. It icludes helplines and safe houses
  • A 3-storey building collapsed in the busy Transport Nager area in Lucknow killing 8 and injuring 28 others
Junior doctors do not agree to meet Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee without live-streaming of meeting /////// CBI arrests ex-principal of R G Kar College Sandip Ghosh and OC of Tala PS in Kolkata, Abhijit Mondal' for destrcution of evidence in the rape-murder case
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Digitizing Health Records Is Good, But Address Infrastructure Issues Simultaneously

By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-10-06 11:32:14

Under the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) scheme, Prime Minister Modi announced a few days back that citizens will be able to voluntarily digitize all their health information and get a 14-digit health identification number. That would enable doctors to access their medical history all over India in case of any subsequent illness. Since the records will be perfect and online, the patient will not have to carry any reports and papers on doctor visits and the examining doctor will be sure that all information has been disclosed. Hence, the doctor will be able to treat the patient better.

Although this will be a breakthrough development in terms of patient information and ease of access, there are several issues that need to be tackled before introducing it. Since India is dragging its feet on a comprehensive privacy law, asking citizens to disclose health information online is fraught with risk. More than basic information, it is specialized information such as the one that will be collated under the NDHM scheme that will be of particular interest to vested groups. Although the data will be on government servers, it will be prone to misuse in various ways. Hence, the privacy law must be enacted before announcing any scheme that seeks to digitize sensitive data of citizens.

Further, digitization of medical records is just one of the ways to improve health services in India but it will be of little help in the face of the real problem, which lies elsewhere. Quite simply, India is groaning under the shortage of health facilities and trained personnel. The pandemic has brought it under sharper focus. The urgent need is to have more hospitals, more doctors, more nurses and more paramedics. On all these parameters, India is way behind the minimum mandated by the WHO. If the government wants to something in the health sector, it must address the shortages and work to provide  access to specialized health services to the people, especially in rural areas. 

Pic courtesy: Sanskriti IAS