Medical law: Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023: practice question

A Forensic Medicine question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

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Forensic Medicine · Medical law: Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023

Sample item

A hospital app collected patient data for booking appointments and now wants to use the same data for unrelated advertising. What does the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 require?

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

C. Free, specific, informed and unambiguous consent of the data principal for that new purpose

Under the DPDP Act the patient is the data principal and the hospital the data fiduciary. Data may be processed only for the purpose consented to, and consent must be free, specific, informed, unconditional and unambiguous, with the right to withdraw it. A new purpose needs fresh consent.

Option by option

  • A. Consent only if the data concern a minor

    Consent applies to adults as well, and for children a parent's consent is needed.

  • B. No consent, because the hospital already holds the data

    Holding data does not authorise any use of it.

  • C. Free, specific, informed and unambiguous consent of the data principal for that new purpose (correct)

    Correct. A new purpose needs fresh specific consent from the patient.

  • D. Consent from the head of the hospital only

    Consent belongs to the data principal, not the institution's head.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

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Questions about this Forensic Medicine question

What is the answer to this Forensic Medicine question?

The best answer is C, Free, specific, informed and unambiguous consent of the data principal for that new purpose. Under the DPDP Act the patient is the data principal and the hospital the data fiduciary.

Why is "Consent only if the data concern a minor" not the answer?

Consent applies to adults as well, and for children a parent's consent is needed.

Why is "No consent, because the hospital already holds the data" not the answer?

Holding data does not authorise any use of it.

Why is "Consent from the head of the hospital only" not the answer?

Consent belongs to the data principal, not the institution's head.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Medical law: Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 in Forensic Medicine. Data may be processed only for the purpose consented to, and consent must be free, specific, informed, unconditional and unambiguous, with the right to withdraw it. A new purpose needs fresh consent.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as a multi-step question: it asks you to combine more than one idea. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Medical law: Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023?

Learn postmortem changes with their timelines, and toxicology as poison, sign, test and antidote. Then use the flashcards and the other Forensic Medicine questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.