The National Digital Health Mission has the potential to transform the healthcare system, but the concerns around data privacy needs to be addressed. Examine.

The National Digital Health Mission was launched to improve the health infrastructure. It is being hailed as a reform as big as Aadhar.

Benefits for Patients:

• Digital health ID for every individual.
• Digi Doctor facility of cloud services, where patients can store health documents.
• Better follow-up on health issues, as life long history will be maintained.
• Reduced health expenses in long run.

Benefits for health system:

• Public loud infrastructure reduces their costs for storage.
• Better follow-up patients.
• Improve the accessibility and affordability of Tele-medicine services.
• ‘Data’ help in building many AI based solution for policy making.
• NDHM also offers regulatory ‘sand boxes’ and APIs (Application program interface) for startups.

Concerns around data privacy:

• Threatens right to privacy.
• Fear of hacking and stealing personal health records.
• This can also lead to weaponizing by enemy nations and blackmailing.

Way forward:

Personal data protection laws as recommended by Sri Krishna committee need to be adopted. If some data is kept on an open platform, Hashing or anonymizing of data should be done.

Topics: GS-II: Social Sector Services Health • GS-II: Important Aspects of Governance Transparency and Accountability Citizen Charters