Digital privacy concerns in India for medical tourism

Abstract

Investments in Indian Medical Tourism (MT) have been growing at a greater rate than the global standards. However, unfortunately, Indian legislations have not managed to keep pace with this phenomenal growth, and have thereby been lacking in forming specific amendments, coupled with both preventive and compensative decrees. Moreover, safety and security have emerged as an aggregated inter‐web of complex multi‐dimensional components, encompassing aspects such as “public and personal data safety,” “legal protection of tourists,” “consumers” “protection,” and so on. The internet has affected “data integration,” “storage,” “exchange” exposing thereby the possibilities of security breaches. All of these, in amalgamation, call for elevating the overall hygiene of India's growing medical tourism industry. Based upon this backdrop, this study looks into the theories of security, privacy, and consumerism, and the need for preventive cybercrime laws in India's medical tourism sector, especially considering several technical vulnerabilities that do exist. In this endeavor, I reviewed and analyzed journals and government policies, and have looked to identify some of the fallacies and gaps. Additionally, I also attempted to identify some of the needs that exist in MT's cybersecurity space, both within the Indian and international contexts.