1. New DGHS to look after work of DGHS wef 02.04.18 will be Dr. Promila Gupta currently DDG(O). She will continue till she completes 62 years.
2. According to figures revealed in the latest edition of the The Lancet Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, at least 300 million people worldwide are infected with the Hepatitis B virus while only five percent, or one in twenty sufferers are receiving needed medical care.
3. A key barrier to timely diagnosis and treatment of TB among smokers is the assumption that a cough is related to their smoking. TB can not be controlled unless you control tobacco menace.
4. A World Health Organisation study has suggested that a one hour session of smoking shisha (hookha) can be the same as smoking 100 or more cigarette
5. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) claims the lives of 5,000 people a year in the UK [Telegraph]
6. A study conducted by the University of Campinas in Brazil shows that triclosan an antimicrobial compound used in basic bathroom items like soap, toothpaste, and deodorant may inhibit deadly enzymes and fight otherwise resistant malaria parasites.
7. To assist the oncologists in making major clinical decisions encountered while managing their pancreatic cancer patients, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued a consensus document on pancreatic cancers.
8. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had certified India as being Polio-free on 27 March, 2014, making it the fourth anniversary of the declaration on Tuesday.
9. “Treat the patient, not the number.” This is a very old and sound medical school teaching. However, when it comes to blood sugar control in diabetes, we have tended to treat the number, thinking that a lower number would equal better health.
10. Nadda Ji meets National President IMA: the health minter called Dr Ravi Wankhedkar today to discuss about the ongoing agitation of IMA. The MOH will have next meeting on 2nd April. The agitation of IMA however will continue.
11. IMA agitation: IMA students wing and resident doctors wing will withdraw modern medicine services on 2nd April. If the government has full faith that AYUSH doctors can manage all patients with a short term course then why not allow them to take over the modern system of medicine all together.
12. Fortis Healthcare is likely to be taken over by Manipal Hospitals, backed by private equity giant TPG.
13. DISHA: “Any person who commits a serious breach of health care data shall be punished with imprisonment, which shall extend from three years and up to five years; or fine, which shall not be less than five lakh of rupees. Provided that, any fine imposed as part of sub-section (2) may be provided to the individual whose data is breached, by the Court, as it deems fit as compensation.
14. 38. Serious breach of digital health data:

(1) A serious digital health data breach shall be said to have taken place, if:

1. A person commits a breach of digital health data intentionally, dishonestly, fraudulently or negligently; or
2. Any breach of digital health data occurs, which relates to information which is not anonymised or de-identified; or
3. A breach of digital heath data occurs where a person failed to secure the data as per the standards prescribed by the Act or any rules thereunder; or
4. Any person uses the digital health data for commercial purposes or commercial gain; or
5. An entity, clinical establishment or health information exchange commits breach of digital health data repeatedly;

Explanation: The terms “dishonestly” and “fraudulently” shall have the same meaning as assigned to them under the Indian Penal Code, 1860

(2) Any person who commits a serious breach of health care data shall be punished with imprisonment, which shall extend from three years and up to five years; or fine, which shall not be less than five lakh of rupees.

Provided that, any fine imposed as part of sub-section (2) may be provided to the individual whose data is breached, by the Court, as it deems fit as compensation.

15. DISHA: The rights of the owner of digital health data

1. An owner shall have the right to privacy, confidentiality, and security of their digital health data, which may be collected, stored and transmitted in such form and manner as may be prescribed under this Act.
2. An owner shall have the right to give or refuse consent for the generation and collection of digital health data by clinical establishments and entities, subject to the exceptions provided in Section 29 of this Act.
3. An owner shall have the right to give, refuse or withdraw consent for the storage and transmission of digital health data.
4. An owner shall have the right to refuse consent to the access or disclosure of his or her digital health data, and if refused it shall not be disclosed, subject to the exceptions provided in Section 33 of the Act.
5. An owner of the digital health data shall have the right that the digital health data collected must be specific, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which it is sought;
6. An owner of the digital health data shall have the right to know the clinical establishments or entities which may have or has access to the digital health data, and the recipients to whom the data is transmitted or disclosed;
7. The owner of the digital health data shall have a right to access their digital health data with details of consent given and data accessed by any Clinical Establishment/Entity;
8. The owner of the digital health data shall have, subject to sub-section

(1) to (3) above:

1. The right to rectify without delay, from the respective clinical establishment or health information exchange or entity, any inaccurate or incomplete digital health data, in the prescribed form as may be notified by the National Electronic Health Authority;
2. The right to require their explicit prior permission for each instance of transmission or use of their digital health data in an identifiable form, through such means as may be prescribed by the Central Government;
3. The right to be notified every time their digital health data is accessed by any clinical establishment within the meaning of Section 34 of the Act;
4. The right to ensure that in case of health emergency, the digital health data of the owner may be shared with their family members;
5. The right to prevent any transmission or disclosure of any sensitive health related data that is likely to cause damage or distress to the owner;
6. The right not to be refused health service, if they refuse to consent to generation, collection, storage, transmission and disclosure of their health data;
7. The right to seek compensation for damages caused by a breach of digital health data.

16. The health ministry has "omitted" the contentious provision of a bridge course, proposed in the National Medical Commission Bill, which allows practitioners of alternative medicines to pursue allopathy, while finalising several other amendments in the Bill which has been sent it to the Cabinet for approval, sources said today. [PTI]

17. The government has directed that pharmaceutical companies should print generic names of drugs, and fixed dose combination of two drugs in the same font, but two font sizes larger than the companys brand name for the drug.

18. IMA Action Plan” Medical students : 1 Medical students should boycott classes on April 2nd, 2018. 2 Demonstrations should be held and memorandum to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India be handed over to District Collector in all the districts for onward transmission.

Resident Doctors and Junior Doctors : 1. Resident Doctors and Junior Doctors should boycott all academic work on April 2, 2018. 2. ‎Clinical work should be restricted to emergencies alone. 3. ‎They should also join the demonstrations being held in all districts.

19. Having a DNR means that if your heart stops or you can’t breathe, medical staff will let you die naturally, instead of rushing to give you cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Correctly interpreted, a DNR bars just that one procedure — resuscitation. But in the West it has been noticed that many doctors and nurses take DNR to mean you want end-of-life care only. They misconstrue DNR as Dying, Not Recovering. They even hesitate to put DNR patients in the ICU when they need intensive care.

20. Four types of negligence: Medical Misdiagnosis (wrong diagnosis or fail to come up with a diagnosis entirely); Surgical Negligence (wrong operation performed, the wrong part of the body operated on, or foreign objects left inside the body); Medication Errors (prescribing the incorrect dosage amount, as well as prescribing a completely unnecessary medication) and Pregnancy and Birth Injuries