Version imprimableINDIAN DOCTORS FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
139- E, Kitchlu Nagar Ludhiana
Date: 30.09.2021
The National Digital Health Mission Will in no way help in improving health of our people
Albeit it will be another mechanism for surveillance by the state through personal data collection on health - IDPD
Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) has expressed its grave concern on National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) recently launched by the Prime Minister of India. The NDHM is short on details about how sensitive medical records will be secured and it doesn’t inspire confidence that the very real security issues are being adequately addressed.
One of the main concerns with the NDHM is that it suggests a framework that severely overlaps with the fundamental right to privacy. Specifically, it does not align fully the privacy principles recommended by the Group of Experts on Privacy (Justice A.P. Shah Committee) and the more recent, Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee report whose recommendations on data protection form the core foundation for the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018. Extensive due diligence is required by all stakeholders to ensure that a right balance is created between the public healthcare needs and the legal rights of the citizens, specifically the right of privacy and data protection
The opt-out mechanism also appears to be flawed, as a person
