PIL Urges Digital Signatures For Medical Records, Delhi HC Orders Petitioner To Represent

A Public Interest Litigation on Wednesday has been filed in the Delhi High Court, advocating for the mandatory use of verifiable digital signatures by medical practitioners when handling electronic media.

The petition highlights concerns about the increasing fabrication of medical documents such as clinical lab reports, prescriptions, and certificates.

The PIL seeks to enhance the authenticity and integrity of electronically transmitted medical records and prescriptions, aiming to combat the rise in fraudulent practices in healthcare documentation. The court, led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, directed the petitioner to first approach the relevant authorities with a formal representation.

The court also instructed these authorities to respond to the representation within a specified timeframe.

Dr. Rohit Jain, the petitioner, represented by Advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi, emphasized that medical test results are typically verified by a registered medical practitioner before release. This verification involves the physical signing of reports, ensuring the accuracy and medico-legal accountability of the information.

According to a response to an RTI query dated December 3, 2019, the Medical Council of India (MCI) previously maintained that physical signatures are required on lab reports, but its regulations didn’t address the validity of digital signatures. Currently, lab reports are authenticated electronically, with doctors logging into computer systems to verify reports, which are then printed or converted to PDFs with digital signatures.

The PIL points out that while this digital process simplifies the verification of reports, it also raises issues. Laboratories sometimes use doctors’ signatures without their direct oversight, including instances where doctors’ signatures are used even after their resignation. The plea argues that there is no existing policy regulating the misuse of scanned signatures, which can be easily fabricated and manipulated, leading to potential harm to patients.

The petition calls for comprehensive guidelines to regulate the use of digital signatures, addressing the issues surrounding the illegal use of scanned signature images. It seeks to establish regulations for the authentication of medical documents in diagnostic laboratories, hospitals, clinics, and other clinical establishments.

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