NEW DELHI - India's government is using the coronavirus pandemic to push its plan to digitise the health records and data of its 1.3 billion people, despite concerns about privacy and increased surveillance, technology and human rights experts say.
Praveen Gedam of the National Health Authority said in emailed comments that the pandemic had highlighted the need to"move swiftly to improve medical infrastructure". There has been a move in recent years to digitise medical records and data as part of the Digital India campaign to deliver services electronically.A draft Health Data Management Policy unveiled last month has guidelines for regulating the collection and storage of the data that can only be accessed with the individual's consent.
The 12-digit ID, which is linked to an individual's fingerprints, face and iris scan, was introduced to streamline welfare payments and reduce wastage in public spending.The Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Aadhaar could not be a requirement for welfare programmes. The draft policy is only available online and in English, thus preventing access to a large majority of people, said Satendra Singh, a physician and disability rights campaigner who petitioned to extend the deadline for feedback to Sept 21.
Private healthcare providers have long argued that lack of digitisation and interoperability leads to delays, inconvenience and higher costs.