Women’s Digital Privacy in Healthcare: A Critical Concern
Women have unique privacy considerations when it comes to healthcare, particularly in non-governmental private clinics. Many of these clinics still rely on traditional paper-based systems. In such settings, a female patient is typically required to register using her national ID card, a copy of which is often kept on file. She is also asked to provide personal and medical information during every visit—placing her data at risk of unauthorized use, whether for marketing purposes or even future fraudulent activities.
With the increasing prevalence of cyberattacks, concerns are growing regarding the misuse of ID cards and the rise of identity theft. It is likely that we will see a surge in such violations as digital systems continue to evolve.
What’s the solution?
A proposed solution is to develop a unified national digital health system for all clinics, under direct government oversight. This system would maintain a centralized electronic health record (EHR) for every individual. Clinics could access this record without requiring patients to re-register or repeatedly provide personal data. More importantly, women would have the authority to control who accesses their information and would have the option to delete their health record instantly through the designated authority—without human intervention from clinic staff, and without lengthy procedures or correspondence that often fail to protect privacy.
Such a system would provide a higher level of professionalism and precision in safeguarding women’s privacy, and in fact, the privacy of all individuals within the healthcare sector.
