The importance of the online storage of patient data in Indian COVID-19 scenario: A narrative review

Abstract

Generation Z has seen drastic changes in the medical sector with the health-care industry constantly updating itself with newer tools to provide quality treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly tested the services in every aspect of life and has led to an unprecedented increase in the online storage of patient data. Electronic health records (EHRs) are real-time records that make health information of any patient available securely to authorized users. EHRs in the Indian scenario are still in their budding stages, described as “islands of excellence in an ocean of inadequacy.” The central institutes and corporate hospitals have implemented it, but the state medical colleges and peripheral health centers have miles to go. These patient data records become an essential tool in physician's decision-making, expertise, and management. One can review the data which is just a click away even after the patients have been discharged, especially in the follow-up period. The current scenario is such that health-care workers and nonhealth-care workers alike share the data of the patients in respect to their records, radiographs, and laboratory data using social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram. In the absence of adequate regulations, the reliability of the EHRs is questionable and doubt creates a preference for the traditional medical services among the health-care workers. To conclude, a clear and precise guideline that can enlighten the patient and health-care workers is the need of the hour. The concerns of online storage of data need to be alleviated and privacy regulations need to be addressed.

Keywords

• electronic health records
• modern technology
• pandemic
• privacy
• social media