DPDP Compliance for Healthcare Companies
Healthcare platforms handle the most sensitive data โ medical records, prescriptions, health vitals,. Talk to our experts.
Discuss this page with an LLM
Now replace the sandwich shop with your Healthcare company. Where does personal data enter? Where does it sit? Who else touches it?
Healthcare DPDP Self-Check
Start here to understand why DPDP is relevant to Healthcare. Before any other task, first understand how personal data moves through the business.
What is Healthcare?
In this context, Healthcare means clinics, hospitals, diagnostics, telemedicine, pharmacies, health apps and care-support workflows that collect or use patient, appointment, prescription, billing, medical and communication data.
Children's data
- Do you collect age, class, school, parent details or learning progress?
- Can you separate child, parent and guardian data?
- Do you know which users are under 18?
Consent
- Can you prove where consent came from?
- Is consent collected before data is used for the stated purpose?
- Can consent be withdrawn without breaking the entire account flow?
Tracking and profiling
- Do you track usage, performance, attention, behavior or drop-offs?
- Is any of this used for ads, recommendations or nudges?
- Are analytics tools collecting user identifiers?
Vendors and SDKs
- Which CRMs, email tools, payment tools, analytics tools and support tools receive personal data?
- Do contracts say they process data only on your instructions?
- Can you delete or export data from each vendor?
Retention
- What happens when the service ends?
- What happens when a user leaves?
- What data is kept for certificates, invoices, disputes or regulatory records?
First action
- Map one user journey from sign-up to completion.
- Mark where data is collected, stored, shared, used for communication and deleted.
If this self-check exposed more than three unclear answers, the next useful step is a DPDP data journey map.
Book a DPDP clarity callHealthcare Company Analyses
Apollo 24/7
Apollo 24/7's privacy policy is detailed about data collection but remains largely anchored to the IT Act 2000 and SPDI Rules. Given it handles highly sensitive medical data, the lack of explicit DPDP Act 2023 alignment, especially concerning granular consent, specific data retention, and DPB redressal, poses significant compliance risks.
Cure.fit (cult.fit)
cult.fit collects intimate health data โ heart rate, body measurements, workout capacity, injury history, and mental health content engagement โ processing what is effectively continuous health monitoring. At 42/100, treating this health data with consumer app privacy standards instead of health data protections creates significant DPDP exposure.
HealthifyMe
HealthifyMe relies on a 'bundled' consent model that likely fails the DPDP Act's strict requirement for specific and unconditional permission. While they prioritize security for sensitive health data, their broad data-sharing clauses and lack of a dedicated Indian grievance path create major legal risks.
MediBuddy
MediBuddy's privacy policy is comprehensive under older regulations but lacks explicit alignment with the DPDP Act 2023. Given its handling of sensitive health data, the absence of granular consent, specific data retention periods, and clear cross-border transfer rules poses significant compliance challenges and potential liabilities.
mfine
mfine handles highly sensitive medical and physiological data, yet its policy relies on outdated 'all-or-nothing' consent models. While security measures are mentioned, the lack of DPDP-aligned data erasure timelines and grievance mechanisms creates significant risk for a health-tech leader.
PharmEasy
PharmEasy handles highly sensitive health data but its privacy policy doesn't explicitly align with the DPDP Act 2023. Key issues include non-granular consent for health information, unclear data retention, and an incomplete framework for user rights, posing significant regulatory and reputational risks.
Practo
Practo handles India's most sensitive personal data โ medical records, doctor consultations, prescriptions, and health histories โ scoring 53/100 on DPDP alignment. While healthcare-specific awareness is present, the lack of DPDP-specific consent granularity and retention timelines for medical data creates critical regulatory exposure.
1mg
Tata 1mg's privacy policy demonstrates a robust approach to data security and provides mechanisms for data principals to exercise certain rights, such as withdrawing consent. However, the policy currently lacks explicit alignment with several critical provisions of India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023. Key areas requiring enhancement include the granularity of consent, clear definition of data retention periods, explicit mention of DPDP Act-mandated rights like nomination, and the escalation process to the Data Protection Board. Given the sensitive nature of health-related personal data processed by 1mg, precise DPDP compliance is essential to build and maintain user trust while navigating India's evolving data protection landscape.
Frequently asked questions
Can we still send lab reports to patients via WhatsApp?
You can, but you must document that the patient specifically chose this channel. You are responsible for ensuring the person receiving the message is the verified patient and that the data is not used for other purposes by the platform.
Does DPDP override the 3-year medical record retention rule?
No, legal requirements for record-keeping take priority over deletion requests. However, you must delete non-clinical data, like app usage history or marketing preferences, once the patient stops using your services.
Are our visiting consultants considered separate Data Fiduciaries?
If the hospital manages the billing and patient records, the hospital is the primary Fiduciary. Your contracts with visiting doctors must include specific clauses about restricted access to the hospital's central database.