Ayushman Bharat: Dear Minister, Please Don’t Reveal Patient Names
Ayushman Bharat: Assam Minister shares patient details to promote the mega health scheme
Just 3 days after Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi launched the government’s flagship Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission, many states have come out with promotional pitches and plans. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Minister, in his excitement to showcase how the scheme was already being implemented in his state, sent out a tweet with a list of the first 21 patients the state has enrolled.
Here’s a problem. He not only revealed the names of these patients, but also the hospitals and the departments under which they are seeking treatment. Below is the screenshot of the tweet with names blurred out by us.
He is now being heavily trolled for actions.
While what the minister has done may not be illegal, it is certainly problematic and irresponsible. For example, if a patient wants to keep their health condition private, that should be there choice. Just because they have opted to register for a government insurance scheme, does not mean they have given up their right to privacy.
He’s the same minister who had come up with a bizarre ‘cancer is caused by sin’ theory last year, and was trolled for it.
Stated to be the largest healthcare scheme in the world, Ayushman Bharat aims to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10.74 crore poor families.
In addition to the insurance plan, the government aims to open 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres by 2022, which would be equipped to treat diseases including blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer.
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