In the era of the coronavirus pandemic, telehealth has become a valuable tool for healthcare providers and patients alike – allowing consultations to be had even during a period of stringent lockdown. India is no exception – as if to underscore this point, the Delhi government announced earlier this week free online consultations for the […]
Health data
Cancer registry announced in Rajasthan
A cancer registry has been announced by the Rajasthan health department to map cases of the disease in the state. The announcement responds to a disease which is growing in India. Already, cancer is the country’s second biggest killer after heart disease whilst India accounts for the third-highest number of cancer cases in the world […]
National Health Profile 2019: The main takeaways
Life expectancy has increased, but noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and infectious diseases continue to take a toll and access to healthcare is far from equitable across the country. This is according to the latest National Health Profile released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare earlier this week. “A healthy India is no longer […]
Diabetes: An Indian epidemic
Diabetes continues to be a disease of epidemic proportions in India, as new government figures remind us. The overall prevalence of diabetes in the country is 11.8 percent, with men and women almost equally affected. Twelve percent of men are diabetic, compared to 11.7 percent of women. The findings come from the National Diabetes and […]
DATRI and Christ College to raise awareness of blood diseases in Pune
Christ College in Pune and online blood stem cell donor database DATRI will collaborate to raise awareness of blood disorders such as blood cancers and thalassemia which require blood stem cell transplants. “There are large [numbers] of patients suffering from blood cancer and thalassemia major among others for which the last resort is blood stem […]
The continuing vulnerability of health data
The health data of millions is publicly accessible worldwide, recent reports have said. US non-profit organisation ProPublica and German public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk released the investigation, which found that “medical images and health data …including X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, are sitting unprotected on the internet and available to anyone with basic computer expertise.” This […]
Cyberattacks: A crisis in Indian pharma?
The pharmaceutical sector in India is the sixth most-affected industry of its kind in the world in terms of cyberattacks. Attempted malicious attacks hit almost 45 percent of the sector’s devices in India last year, an increase from 44 percent the year before. Only the pharmaceutical industries in Pakistan, Egypt, Mexico, Indonesia, and Spain were […]
AYUSH Grid: A national network for alternative medicine
The Union Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) will develop an ‘AYUSH Grid’, connecting alternative medicine centres nationwide. The network will make it easier to assess the efficacy of alternative medicine systems, enabling AYUSH hospitals and laboratories to share data such as case studies and observation reports. This will be […]
Cybersecurity experts’ warnings for the health sector
Cybersecurity experts have warned healthcare providers to be vigilant against threats from hackers, intimating that the industry could become “the apple of the eye for cybercriminals.” “Data is sick…As rapid digitalisation penetrates the healthcare sector, cybercriminals are seeing more opportunities to attack this lucrative and critical industry, which is honestly not equipped enough to face […]
Cybersecurity: How does Indian pharma fare?
As little as five percent of pharmaceutical companies have secure cybersecurity systems, an expert in the field said at a recent forum. Sal Krishna, chairperson of the Global Cybersecurity Forum, said between five and ten percent of pharmaceutical companies in India possess the security systems needed to protect data from hackers. Many, he added, do […]