Technology is assisting in making affordable
healthcare services available to the residents of even the most
remote corners of a territory. Technology has the potential to tackle
the healthcare related problems of India as well. However, regulatory
and legal issues must be kept in mind while using technology for
healthcare related services in India.
For instance, most of the m-health service providers
in India are violating
Indian laws and there may be legal actions against
them very soon. However, the biggest nuisance creators are online
pharmacies providers of India that are operating without
any legal
compliance. Some of the areas where the m-health service
providers are not
observing Indian laws are privacy
protection, data
protection (PDF), cyber
law due diligence (PDF), encryption
regulations, cloud
computing regulations, etc.
Similarly, medical devices must be thoroughly
scrutinised to rule out any possible legal violation in India. The
legal risks for developer
and owners of food, healthcare and medicine related
websites cannot be ignored. Mobile medical devices and handsets and
their respective applications
must also be in strict conformity with Indian laws. Medical device
makers, software providers and medical fraternity of India must also
keep in mind the encryption laws of India and cloud computing related
compliances of India.
According to experts, dedicated m-health
laws and regulations in India are urgently needed to
prevent m-health related legal violations. In India, e-health and
m-health related legal framework is missing. For instance, e-health
in India is facing legal
roadblocks. Till now we do not have any dedicated e-health
laws and regulations in India. The legal
enablement of e-health in India is urgently required.
Naturally, dedicated m-health laws and regulations in India are also
missing and different laws apply to m-health related issues in India.
Telemedicine
and online pharmacies laws in India and their legal
implications and liabilities are also unknown to various m-health
professionals.
In United States, the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA),
Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act
(HITECH Act), etc are some of the laws that take care of medico legal
and techno legal issues of e-health and telemedicine. India also
needs laws like HIPPA and other similar laws that can regulate
m-health related issues in India. Otherwise, unregulated m-health
activities may be a great health hazard in India.
