Ayushman Bharat CEO’s order for live feed breach of patient privacy: Haryana IMA

In a strongly worded letter, the Haryana chapter of the Indian Medical Association has expressed objection to the orders of Chief Executive Officer of Ayushman Bharat to the empanelled hospitals for live CCTV camera surveillance in Intensive Care Units (ICU). It asserted that the order lacked “empathy” and breached the patients’ privacy. The hospitals have expressed their inability to comply with the directions.

“We are quite disturbed by the lack of empathy implied in this letter and failed to understand the thought process behind it. ICU and high dependency units are the areas where patients are highly sick and quite vulnerable. They need sponging, change of clothes, catheterization etc. If cameras are put on them and direct feed given to your department, it will be a clear breach of the privacy of the patients,” said the letter to the Deputy CEO of Ayushman Bharat Haryana Health Protection Authority, on Sunday.

The office of Ayushman Bharat Haryana CEO, had in a letter on January 7 directed all hospitals empanelled under the scheme that the beneficiaries admitted in HDU and the ICU, with or without ventilator support, be kept under continuous live CCTV camera surveillance and the live feed link be shared with the State Health Agency. The cameras be positioned in a manner that it ensured patients’ dignity and privacy, but allowed verification of their presence, said the letter.

The directions were aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability and effective monitoring in the implementation of the Ayusham Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the letter said.

Terming the directions “very impractical”, the IMA, in the counter letter, argued that there would also be patients other than the beneficiaries of the scheme in these areas and there was a great chance of misuse of this feed.

“In a writ petition(civil) No 635/2021, Supreme Court has also ruled against the mandatory installation of CCTV in the hospitals. How it is justifiable that the privacy of a patient being treated under Ayushman Bharat be compromised because he or she is poor and avails these services?,” said the IMA, adding that there was already an established process of checking admitted cases with a proper standard operating procedure.