Gurgaon:
In a move aimed at strengthening oversight and preventing misuse of the Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the Haryana government has directed all empanelled hospitals to place ICU and HDU patients under continuous live CCTV surveillance.
The order, issued on Wednesday by the Haryana Health Protection Authority, applies to all AB-PMJAY beneficiaries, including patients on ventilator support. Hospitals have been instructed to share real-time CCTV feeds with the State Health Agency for verification, monitoring, audit, and claim processing.
As per the directive, cameras must be positioned in a manner that confirms patient presence and delivery of care, while ensuring dignity and privacy. Hospitals are required to provide immediate access to the live feed and install technical safeguards to prevent tampering or manipulation of footage. Sharing of CCTV footage with unauthorised persons or agencies is strictly prohibited.
The order states that the medical superintendent or authorised Ayushman Bharat nodal officer will be personally responsible for compliance. Non-compliance could attract fines, suspension, or even de-empanelment from the scheme.
The decision is aimed at curbing fraud under the scheme, which covers around 1.8 crore people from low-income families in Haryana.
Doctors Object, Cite Privacy and Ethical Concerns
The directive has, however, drawn strong objections from the medical community. Doctors have warned that live video monitoring of critical care areas could breach patient confidentiality and violate medical ethics.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has expressed concern that filming inside ICUs would inevitably capture exposed bodies, invasive procedures, and moments of patient distress, posing a serious risk to privacy.
Speaking to The Times of India, former IMA Haryana president Dr Ajay Mahajan said,
“Even with safeguards in place, live streaming expands the risk of leaks or misuse of sensitive footage. This is also against National Accreditation Board for Hospitals (NABH) guidelines.”
Under NABH norms, patients are entitled to dignity, privacy, informed consent, and respectful care. Doctors also pointed out that ICU patients are often not in a condition to provide informed consent, making continuous live surveillance particularly problematic.
Additionally, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which classifies health information as sensitive personal data, mandates strict consent-based processing and protection obligations.
Medical professionals have argued that real-time monitoring by an external authority goes beyond routine hospital surveillance and places the burden of ensuring data protection and confidentiality squarely on hospitals.
The issue is now likely to spark wider debate on balancing fraud prevention and transparency with patient rights, privacy, and medical ethics under government health insurance schemes.
