The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) wrote a letter to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy urging him to take necessary steps to protect the medical data which would be collected during the Jagananna Aarogya Suraksha programme.
In a letter on Sunday, CPI(M) State secretary V. Srinivasa Rao said that the State government was collecting health data as part of the Jagananna Aarogya Suraksha campaign. Based on the data, the government should take steps to provide necessary medicines, and make doctors and staff available to meet the requirements. The government hospitals should be modernised and to extend free services, failing which the campaign would remain a publicity stunt, he felt.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao said that collection of data assumes significance as it is an open secret that the data collected by the government on various occasions reaches private companies.
“The data thus collected would be linked to Aarogya Setu, a Central government scheme. Unless there was an assurance on data security from the Union government, the data should not be linked to Aarogya Setu. Else, it would reach the insurance and pharma companies. The data breach not only affects the privacy of citizens but also helps the companies in minting money. Keeping this experience in mind, steps should be taken to fully secure the data,” he added.
