Employees State Insurance Corporation Medical College and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Chennai, India.
Indian Council of Medical Research, National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, India.
Bull World Health Organ. 2020 Apr 1;98(4):277-281. doi: 10.2471/BLT.19.237123. Epub 2019 Jan 17.
The proliferation of information and communication technologies in India has enabled the emergence of health-related digital applications, from which important ethical issues arise.
The identification system provides each resident in India with a 12-digit unique identification number, linked to demographic and biometric data. Identification by in welfare programmes has the important advantage of ensuring targeted benefits reach the intended recipients.
Some of the major issues faced by the public health sector in India are inadequate funding and inefficient utilization of the funds allocated. The enhancement of currently available digital health records will greatly increase the efficiency of the health care services.
The identification system has been linked to several health programmes since 2013. Success was achieved in a programme encouraging pregnant women to undergo delivery at a health facility, as use of number ensured that cash incentives reached the correct recipient. However, interruptions in the treatment of patients with tuberculosis and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome have been reported in other health programmes, due to patients fearing a breach of their confidentiality.
Although the proposed merging of the identification system with digital health care records could enable greater efficiency in monitoring public health and welfare programmes, important ethical issues of privacy and data ownership and use must be considered. In joining the digital revolution, low- and middle-income countries must also develop strict legal regulation to protect data and avoid information technology companies exploiting such databases for profit.
印度信息和通信技术的普及催生了与健康相关的数字应用程序，由此产生了一些重要的伦理问题。
印度的识别系统为每个居民提供一个 12 位数字的唯一身份识别号码，与人口统计和生物识别数据相关联。在福利计划中进行身份识别的一个重要优势是确保有针对性的福利能够惠及目标人群。
印度公共卫生部门面临的一些主要问题是资金不足和资金分配效率低下。增强现有的数字健康记录将极大地提高医疗服务的效率。
自 2013 年以来，该识别系统已与多个卫生计划相关联。在一项鼓励孕妇在医疗机构分娩的计划中取得了成功，因为使用身份识别号码确保了现金奖励能够发放给正确的接受者。然而，在其他卫生计划中，据报道，结核病和获得性免疫缺陷综合征患者的治疗被中断，原因是患者担心泄露其隐私。
虽然拟议将身份识别系统与数字医疗保健记录合并，可以提高公共卫生和福利计划监测的效率，但必须考虑隐私和数据所有权及使用的重要伦理问题。在加入数字革命的过程中，中低收入国家还必须制定严格的法律监管，以保护数据，并避免信息技术公司利用此类数据库谋取利润。
