India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 is now in force, turning patient data into a regulated asset. For hospitals, it’s no longer enough to store records securely—you must be able to prove consent, build privacy into every workflow, and minimize data exposure at every touchpoint.

What is the DPDP Act?

The DPDP Act, 2023 is India’s first major privacy law that governs how personal data is collected, used, and stored. For healthcare, it’s a game-changer. Hospitals, as Data Fiduciaries, are now legally responsible for:

• Consent-first data capture
• Purpose-limited processing
• Clear, accessible privacy notices
• Patient rights to access, correct, or delete data
• Robust security and retention controls

And non-compliance? It can cost up to ₹250 crore.

DPDP in Plain Terms: What Hospitals Must Know

Here’s what the Act means for your everyday workflows:

• Consent First: No data without affirmative patient approval
• Purpose-Limited: Use it only for the reason disclosed
• Fiduciary Responsibility: Hospitals must actively protect patient data
• Privacy Notices: Patients must see, read, and understand before submission
• Right to Access & Erase: Patients can request data access, correction, or deletion
• Non-Compliance = Big Penalties: Up to ₹250 crore for violations

The message is clear: compliance can’t be patched in later — it needs to be built-in from the start.

Learn more about healthcare compliance

Why DPDP Compliance Matters More Than Ever

DPDP is no longer on the horizon — it’s here. And hospitals need to be ready.

• It’s enforceable: Non-compliance isn’t just risky — it’s expensive
• Hopitals are fiduciaries: You’re now legally accountable for every data decision
• Consent must be traceable: Multilingual, timestamped, audit-ready
• Trust is the new currency: Compliance builds credibility with patients
• Certinal makes it simple: Built to integrate with how you already work

The Consent Chaos Inside Hospitals

Let’s face it — most hospitals still run on paper, patchwork, and people.

• Consent forms vary by department, and often get lost in handovers
• Patients struggle with forms that aren’t language- or device-friendly
• No real audit trail — just scanned PDFs and filing cabinets
• Same data is entered in multiple systems manually
• Privacy notices? Often skipped, unread, or outdated
• And every manual step increases legal exposure

That’s the gap DPDP exposes. And that’s where Certinal steps in.

How Certinal Solves It

Certinal helps hospitals take control — without rewriting their entire workflow.

• eConsent Everywhere Across departments, devices, and care settings — seamlessly.
• Multilingual, Patient-Friendly Forms Auto-adapt by region, device, and demographic.
• Embedded Privacy Notices Every form carries hospital-specific, accessible policies.
• Real-Time Audit Trails Who signed what, when, and where — captured instantly.
• Enterprise-Grade Security AES-256 encryption, RBAC, and immutable digital logs.
• One Dashboard. Total Control. From audit prep to live compliance monitoring — all in one view.

DPDP Mapped. Certinal Delivered.

DPDP compliance shouldn’t feel like interpretation. It should feel like execution. That’s why Certinal maps directly to the operational intent of the DPDP Act—so hospitals can prove consent, reduce exposure, and stay audit-ready without stitching together tools.

Here’s how key DPDP requirements translate into Certinal capabilities:

• Section 4 – Lawful Processing: Certinal enforces consent-first workflows so data is collected and processed only on a lawful, documented basis.

• Section 5 – Privacy Notice: Privacy notices can be embedded within the patient journey using hospital-specific links and URLs—so disclosure isn’t a separate step.

• Section 6 – Valid Consent: Consent can be captured with clear affirmations (checkbox + eSign) and supported through a multilingual experience to reduce misunderstanding and disputes.

• Section 6 – Data Minimization: Collect only what’s needed by controlling fields and mapping data at the source—reducing unnecessary capture and downstream exposure.

• Section 8(4) – Security Safeguards: Enterprise-grade protection is built in, including encryption (AES-256), role-based access control (RBAC), and secure transport (TLS).

• Section 8(7) – Retention Limits: Retention isn’t manual. Configure auto-archive and purge policies so data doesn’t outlive its purpose.

• Section 11 – Data Access: Generate downloadable, trackable consent records that support patient requests and internal audit requirements.

• Section 13 – Grievance Handling: Add grievance and escalation paths directly inside the consent flow through embedded links and trigger-based routing.

No patchwork. No guesswork. Just built-in compliance.

Compliance is a Shared Responsibility

Certinal doesn’t replace your governance model—it strengthens it. Your hospital still defines policy, language, and clinical/legal thresholds. Certinal ensures those decisions are executed consistently across every form, department, and touchpoint.

• Consent: The hospital owns what “valid consent” means; Certinal supports the capture, proof, and traceability.

• Privacy notices: The hospital customizes the notice content; Certinal embeds it wherever consent is collected.

• Templates: The hospital designs the template; Certinal enables controlled creation, reuse, and governance-friendly rollout.

• Data minimization: The hospital chooses what to collect; Certinal maps and enforces field-level capture via workflows and integrations.

• Security protocols: The hospital verifies and governs security posture; Certinal implements protections across access, encryption, and transmission.

• Grievance handling: The hospital defines the grievance path; Certinal embeds escalation links and triggers into the patient experience.

• Documentation: The hospital owns compliance accountability; Certinal auto-logs actions, events, and consent proof so audit readiness is continuous—not last-minute.

Why Hospitals Choose Certinal

• Healthcare-First: Built for consent, not just signatures. Loved by clinicians, trusted by IT.
• Policy Flexibility: Hospitals define their rules — Certinal ensures they’re followed.
• Compliant from Day One: DPDP-aligned, privacy-embedded, and audit-ready — no code, no chaos.
• Enterprise-Grade Security: On-prem or cloud. AES-256. RBAC. Nothing leaves your network.

Certinal in Action: The Consent Journey

• Consent Form Created Admin selects multilingual template + embeds notice
• Patient Accesses Form Mobile, tablet, or kiosk in hospital
• Language + Notice Toggle Patient sees content in preferred language
• Digital Sign + Confirm Timestamped, device-verified signature
• Auto-Audit Trail All actions logged and mapped to patient ID

Ready to Operationalize DPDP?

Book a 15-Min Consent Compliance Assessment. We’ll review your current workflow and highlight DPDP gaps — no strings attached. Also, see how Certinal connects to your HIS/ERP with ease.

Media Contact
Company Name: Certinal
Contact Person: Cathy Miller
Email: Send Email
Phone: 022 6640 7676
City: Wilmington
State: Delaware
Country: United States
Website: https://www.certinal.com/