Trust, Privacy & Regulatory Compliance
Privacy Policy
How MedBharat collects, encrypts, and safeguards Protected Health Information (PHI) in strict compliance with the DPDP Act 2023, IT Act 2000, GDPR, and HIPAA.
We never sell or monetize health records. Patient data is strictly isolated to the treating clinic and never shared with competitor practices.
Built on PostgreSQL Row-Level Security (RLS) and AES-256 encryption at rest. Strict boundary enforcement guarantees tenant data confidentiality.
Direct self-service portal tools for Download Health Record (PDF) and account deletion under DPDP and GDPR Art. 17.
Introduction & Regulatory Scope
This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) governs the collection, processing, storage, and transmission of personal and sensitive health data across all web portals, administrative consoles, clinical charts, and mobile interfaces operated by MedBharat Healthcare Technologies (“MedBharat”, “Company”, “we”, “our”, or “us”).
This policy has been drafted to meet the strictest statutory standards across jurisdictions where our hospital partners and patients operate, specifically:
Read with the Sensitive Personal Data or Information (SPDI) Rules, 2011 and Intermediary Guidelines Rules, 2021.
Ensuring transparent consent notice, purpose limitation, data fiduciary accountability, and right to grievance redressal.
Articles 6, 9, 15-20, and 28 governing lawful processing of special category health data and data portability.
Secure Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) linking, consent-artefact management, and encrypted health information exchange.
By accessing our platform, registering an account, booking an appointment, or consulting with a healthcare provider through MedBharat, you express your assent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
User Classification & Legal Roles
Depending on your relationship with MedBharat, your data is processed under distinct operational classifications:
Medical institutions, clinics, and independent practitioner establishments. They establish the clinical chart, render care, diagnose conditions, and maintain ownership of clinical records.
Medical professionals registered with the National Medical Commission (NMC), State Medical Councils, or statutory licensing boards who use the EMR to write prescriptions, order investigations, and conduct consultations.
Patients, dependents, and authorized caregivers who access the patient portal, book slots, view prescriptions, share reports, or join video e-consultations.
MedBharat provides cloud software infrastructure, encryption, database hosting, and digital tools. We process Protected Health Information (PHI) strictly on behalf of and under instructions from our hospital fiduciaries.
Express Consent & Communications Notice
Under the SPDI Rules and the DPDP Act 2023, collection and processing of sensitive personal data requires express, informed consent. When registering on MedBharat or receiving care through a partner hospital, you grant express consent to our processing of your medical data for care delivery.
As part of providing healthcare services, MedBharat sends essential administrative and transactional communications, including OTPs, appointment confirmation tokens, queue updates, digital prescriptions (Rx PDFs), and critical diagnostic lab notifications via SMS, WhatsApp Business API, and automated email.
In accordance with the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TRAI), each login, appointment booking, or transaction constitutes a verifiable request for healthcare service. You consent to receive these critical care alerts at the phone number provided, even if your number is listed on the National Consumer Preference Register (NCPR/DND).
Promotional or marketing communications are strictly separate. You may opt out of non-essential communications at any time in your Patient Notification Settings or by emailing privacy@medicus.app.
Information We Collect
We collect only the minimum necessary information required to provide hospital operations and clinical continuity:
Patient Demographic Information
Full name, biological gender, date of birth, age, blood group, preferred communication language, national identity (e.g. ABHA ID / Aadhaar last 4 digits where consented), and postal address.
Protected Health Information (PHI)
Clinical symptoms, past medical history, consultation notes, medication records, drug allergies, vital signs, diagnostic laboratory results, radiology reports, and inpatient admission records.
Doctor & Staff Credentials
Medical registration council numbers, specialty qualifications, digital signatures for prescription signing, clinic OPD schedule availability, and authentication credentials.
Financial & Invoice Records
Hospital billing receipts, consultation fees, payment mode references (Cash, UPI, Card), and statutory taxation records. Raw credit card numbers and bank passwords are never stored on MedBharat servers.
Hardware & Device Permissions
When you use our web applications or mobile interfaces, certain features require explicit device hardware permissions:
Required to conduct encrypted video and audio teleconsultations with your doctor (powered by LiveKit WebRTC edge networks) and to capture prescription or report photos for your clinical chart.
Used exclusively when you choose to download invoices, export health data archives, or upload prior diagnostic PDFs from your device. MedBharat never scans or indexes your device's unselected files or photos.
If you authenticate using Google OAuth, MedBharat adheres strictly to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Data obtained from Google APIs is never transferred or used to train third-party machine learning models.
Purpose & Lawful Processing
MedBharat processes data exclusively for explicit, declared healthcare purposes:
- Clinical Care Provision: Facilitating doctor-patient consultations, clinical diagnoses, electronic prescription issuance, and lab order processing.
- Hospital Operations: Managing OPD queues, doctor schedules, IPD bed allocations, and billing invoices.
- National Health Integration: Linking health records to Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) / ABHA IDs in accordance with National Health Authority standards.
- Security & Fraud Prevention: Authenticating logins, enforcing multi-factor verification, and monitoring audit logs for unauthorized intrusion attempts.
- Legal & Regulatory Compliance: Satisfying statutory medical record maintenance obligations mandated by the National Medical Commission and Indian state health authorities.
Disclosure Policy & Anti-Poaching Guarantee
MedBharat respects the sacrosanct relationship between healthcare practitioners and their patients. MedBharat will never share, sell, or disclose patient directories or clinical contact information to competing clinics, doctors, pharmaceutical sales reps, or insurance brokers.
Each hospital tenant operates within a walled cryptographic silo. Neither MedBharat nor any other hospital tenant can access or solicit another doctor's patient base.
We disclose personal information only under strictly limited circumstances:
- Patient-Directed Sharing: When a patient or doctor explicitly generates a password-protected, expiring report share link via our HIPAA-compliant share module.
- Contracted Subprocessors: Cloud hosting, database, and SMS/WhatsApp providers bound by strict Data Processing Agreements.
- Statutory & Law Enforcement Mandate: When compelled by a valid court order or statutory investigative agency under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act.
De-Identified Data & Health Tech Analytics
“De-Identified Data” means clinical and operational statistics from which all direct identifiers (names, phone numbers, email addresses, national IDs) and indirect identifiers (specific birthdates, IP addresses) have been irreversibly removed in accordance with HIPAA safe-harbor and DPDP de-identification standards.
Once irreversibly de-identified, such aggregated metrics no longer constitute personal data. MedBharat may use aggregated operational benchmarks (such as average patient wait times, disease trend incidence rates, or platform reliability metrics) to improve clinical software workflows and publish public health epidemiological analyses. De-identified data is never used to re-identify individuals or target commercial advertising.
Technical Security & Encryption Controls
In compliance with Rule 8 of the SPDI Rules and international security best practices, MedBharat deploys multi-layered technical, physical, and organizational safeguards:
All database volumes, patient documents, and backup snapshots are encrypted using industry-standard Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit keys.
All communications between your browser, mobile app, and our API gateways use TLS 1.3 cryptographic protocols with modern cipher suites.
Support for multi-factor authentication across staff and patient accounts via email OTP, WhatsApp verification, and TOTP authenticator apps.
Append-only audit logging recording every document upload, report share token generation, view event, and administrative access attempt.
Cloud Infrastructure & Subprocessors
MedBharat partners with enterprise-grade cloud service providers bound by strict Data Processing Addenda (DPAs):
| Partner / Provider | Role & Service | Data Location | Protection Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL Cloud Cluster | Primary database with Row-Level Security | India Region (MeitY compliant) | AES-256, ISO 27001 |
| LiveKit Cloud Edge | Real-time teleconsultation video streams | Global Edge Network | WebRTC DTLS / SRTP |
| WhatsApp Business API (Meta) | Transaction notifications & Rx delivery | Enterprise Cloud | TLS 1.3 / E2EE transit |
| ABDM Gateway (NHA) | National ABHA verification & consent linking | Government of India | JWS / RSA-2048 PKI |
Your Data Subject Rights & Portal Self-Service
In alignment with GDPR Articles 15-20 and the DPDP Act 2023, you have full sovereign autonomy over your personal health information:
Download an official readable Medical Summary (PDF) or export raw machine-readable data (JSON) containing your personal demographics, prescriptions, visit history, and invoices directly from Settings → Download Health Record.
Update phone numbers, email addresses, emergency contacts, and personal preferences directly in your portal settings.
Permanently delete your patient portal account, credentials, and notification subscriptions via Settings → Delete Account.
Revoke active report sharing links, disconnect ABHA linkages, or disable WhatsApp notifications at any time with real-time toggle switches.
Data Retention & Medico-Legal Mandates
Healthcare Statutory Record Retention Policy
While you can close your online portal account and eradicate personal marketing credentials at any time, clinical records (including doctor notes, prescriptions, and lab results) are subject to statutory medical-legal retention rules.
Under National Medical Commission guidelines, the Clinical Establishments Act, and international medical retention standards, hospitals are legally mandated to preserve medical records for a minimum of three (3) to seven (7) years (or longer in pediatric/inpatient cases) to guarantee continuity of clinical care and satisfy medical defense requirements.
Grievance Redressal Officer & DPO Contact
In compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000, Rule 5(9) of the SPDI Rules, and Section 12 of the DPDP Act 2023, the details of our designated Grievance Officer and Data Protection Office are provided below:
Grievance Redressal Officer
Legal & Regulatory Affairs Department
Turnaround Commitment: All formal privacy complaints and Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR) are acknowledged within 24-48 hours and resolved within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt as mandated by law.