DPDP Act Sparks Urgent Overhaul of Consent and Data Workflows in Indian Healthcare

Understand DPDP compliance for legal and healthcare teams in India. Learn key risks, workflow fixes, and how Certinal ensures secure, compliant consent.
India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 marks a pivotal shift in how organizations are expected to collect, store, and process personal data. For legal and healthcare professionals in particular, DPDP compliance is no longer just a regulatory obligation - it is now central to operational risk, patient trust, and institutional reputation.

As digital adoption accelerates across healthcare and legal services, the volume of personally identifiable and sensitive data continues to grow. Patient onboarding, consent forms, medical record access, legal disclosures, and data-sharing agreements all involve critical data flows that fall squarely under the scope of the DPDP Act.

The law introduces clear responsibilities for Data Fiduciaries (organizations that determine the purpose and means of processing personal data) and Data Processors, with strict penalties for non-compliance. More importantly, it puts the power back into the hands of the individual - emphasizing lawful consent, purpose limitation, data minimization, and secure processing.

In this blog, we break down what DPDP compliance [https://www.certinal.com/certinal-dpdp] really means for Indian legal and healthcare institutions, the operational gaps that often go unnoticed, and how digitizing consent and document workflows with platforms like Certinal can simplify your path to compliance.

Legal and Healthcare: Why These Sectors Are Under the Microscope

When it comes to DPDP compliance, no industries are more exposed - or more accountable - than healthcare and legal services. These sectors routinely process sensitive personal data, often under urgent, high-risk, or confidential circumstances. Any lapse in data governance isn't just a technical failure - it can have direct legal, ethical, and reputational consequences.

Why Healthcare Must Pay Attention

Hospitals, diagnostic labs, telemedicine providers, and digital health startups collect vast amounts of patient data - from medical histories and test results to consent forms and biometric identifiers. Under the DPDP Act, this qualifies as sensitive personal data, requiring explicit, purpose-limited, and revocable consent.

Common risk zones include:

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Paper-based consent forms with no digital audit trail

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Medical records shared via email or WhatsApp without encryption

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Patients unaware of how their data is used post-discharge

Without verifiable, DPDP-compliant consent workflows [https://www.certinal.com/certinal-econsent], these processes expose institutions to non-compliance penalties and loss of patient trust.

Why Legal Teams and Law Firms Face Equal Scrutiny

Legal professionals handle a different category of sensitive data: contracts, litigation documents, identity proofs, case notes, and financial disclosures - often tied to individuals. Under the DPDP Act, law firms, courts, and in-house legal teams are Data Fiduciaries and must prove lawful processing.

Risk scenarios include:

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Storing client documents indefinitely without purpose or consent

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Sending agreements for signature without proper audit trails

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Reusing personal case data for internal training or templates without consent

In both sectors, DPDP compliance isn't just about policies - it's about embedding privacy-by-design into everyday workflows like data capture, approvals, digital signatures, and consent management.

Platforms like Certinal enable this shift by ensuring every transaction - whether it's a signed consent form or a legal contract - is traceable, compliant, and secure by default.

5 Compliance Gaps You Might Be Overlooking

Achieving DPDP compliance requires more than publishing a privacy policy or obtaining generic consent. It demands systemic, operational alignment across every touchpoint where personal data is captured, stored, processed, or transferred.

Many legal and healthcare organizations in India believe they are compliant - until regulators or auditors examine how consent is captured, where records are stored, or who can access sensitive data internally. Below are five high-risk compliance gaps that often go unnoticed - until it's too late.

1. Inadequate or Untraceable Consent Collection

Problem: Consent is being captured via paper forms, emails, or generic web disclaimers without digital logs, metadata, or the ability to prove that the individual was informed.

Why It Fails DPDP:

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The Act mandates free, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent .

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It must be purpose-bound and revocable .

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Organizations must prove when, how, and for what purpose consent was obtained.

Real-World Impact: A hospital collecting consent through PDFs or paper risks being unable to demonstrate lawful processing during an audit. A law firm emailing clients for permission without tracking or timestamping may not meet evidentiary standards.

What You Need: A system that records consent digitally, associates it with the exact purpose, stores it securely, and creates a tamper-proof audit trail with metadata and IP capture.

2. No Consent Expiry or Revocation Workflow

Problem: Once obtained, consent is treated as perpetual - without a mechanism to let users revoke, modify, or limit their consent.

Why It Fails DPDP:

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The law explicitly grants Data Principals the right to withdraw consent at any time.

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If your systems cannot revoke access to that data across all internal stakeholders and third parties, you are non-compliant.

Real-World Impact: If a patient withdraws consent for sharing lab data with an insurer, and your system has no way to enforce that withdrawal downstream, you're liable - even if the data wasn't misused intentionally.

What You Need: Automated consent lifecycle management, with UI-based controls for patients or clients to revoke consent - and backend workflows that ensure real-time access deactivation.

3. Poor Visibility into Who Accessed What Data - and When

Problem: In most organizations, access to sensitive data is not tracked or role-restricted in a granular way. Internal teams access legal, medical, or personal data without structured logs or alerts.

Why It Fails DPDP:

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DPDP compliance requires accountability and access control .

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You must demonstrate that only authorized individuals accessed data - and why.

Real-World Impact: If an auditor asks for a record of who accessed a patient's psychiatric report, and your system can't produce a log showing who opened the document, when, and for what purpose - it's a compliance failure.

What You Need: A document workflow and storage system with role-based access, activity logging, and visibility into internal sharing.

4. Use of Non-Compliant eSignature or Document Tools

Problem: Organizations are using generic file-sharing or signature tools that don't meet DPDP's expectations around consent traceability, encryption, or audit trails.

Why It Fails DPDP:

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Tools like email or drive-based signatures lack security certifications and traceability.

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They rarely offer features like signer verification, encryption, or jurisdictional compliance.

Real-World Impact: Sending a consent form for eSign via a non-compliant tool may lead to disputes over validity. In healthcare, this can invalidate consent for treatment or data sharing - exposing institutions to legal liability.

What You Need: A DPDP-compliant eSignature and document execution platform that:

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Captures metadata, timestamps, and identity verification

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Encrypts at rest and in transit

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Stores records securely with access logging

5. Retention Without Purpose and No Deletion Mechanism

Problem: Legal and healthcare organizations often retain personal data indefinitely, even when the original purpose has long expired.

Why It Fails DPDP:

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The Act enforces purpose limitation and storage minimization .

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Retaining data "just in case" is no longer a defensible strategy.

Real-World Impact: A law firm holding client KYC data from a closed case three years ago - without consent or legal basis - may be in violation. A hospital storing insurance documents indefinitely post-discharge is equally vulnerable.

What You Need:

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Retention policies enforced by system logic

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Automated alerts for data expiration

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Deletion workflows tied to consent revocation or transaction closure

True DPDP compliance is not achieved by policy documents - it's embedded in daily workflows. Organizations must re-engineer how consent is captured, how documents are executed, how access is managed, and how data is retired - not just how it is stored.

What DPDP-Compliant Workflows Look Like in Practice

DPDP compliance is not a one-time checklist - it's an operational discipline that must be embedded into every workflow involving the collection, usage, and management of personal data. For legal and healthcare professionals, this includes everything from onboarding forms and client intake to medical consent, document sharing, and contract approvals.

To truly comply with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, your digital workflows must demonstrate - in real-time and upon audit - that personal data is handled lawfully, securely, and transparently.

Here's what that looks like in action:

1. Consent-Centric Data Collection

A DPDP-compliant workflow begins with a consent mechanism that's:

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Explicit: The individual must agree to the data being collected for a clearly defined purpose.

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Purpose-Specific: Consent should be tied to the exact reason for data usage (e.g., a medical procedure, legal service, or document signing).

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Time-Bound: Consent should have an expiry or revocation option built in.

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Digitally Recorded: Consent must be stored with metadata - timestamp, user ID, IP address, device info - to create a verifiable audit trail.

Example in Healthcare: A hospital uses a digital consent form for a surgical procedure. The form clearly states the purpose, auto-expires after the procedure, and is signed digitally with a timestamp. If the patient later asks when and why they gave consent, the hospital can produce an immutable, traceable record within seconds.

2. Secure, Verifiable eSignatures

Whether you're executing a patient consent form or a legal agreement, eSignatures must meet the threshold of legal admissibility and data security under DPDP.

Key elements of DPDP-compliant digital signing include:

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Signer identity verification (via OTP, Aadhaar, email authentication, or SSO)

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Tamper-proof audit trails

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Document encryption at rest and in transit

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Controlled access and download permissions

Example in Legal:A law firm drafts a client agreement and sends it for eSignature via a secure platform. The system captures the signer's device, IP, and time of signing, and stores it in an encrypted repository. The signed document is linked to the original consent record - offering clear, court-admissible proof of authorization.

3. Purpose-Limited Access and Sharing

Access to personal data must follow the principle of least privilege - only those who need it for the approved purpose should have access.

This means:

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Role-based access controls (e.g., only treating physicians or legal leads)

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Temporary access rights that expire automatically

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Document-level access logs for every view, download, or edit

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Alerts for policy violations (e.g., unapproved downloads, off-hours access)

Example in Practice:A diagnostic center restricts access to lab reports only to assigned doctors. If another team member accesses the data without valid purpose, the system logs and flags the incident - providing compliance teams with visibility and enforcement capability.

4. Automated Data Expiry, Retention, and Revocation Workflows

DPDP mandates that data must be deleted when the purpose is fulfilled or consent is withdrawn. This requires:

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Retention periods tied to data purpose

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Auto-deletion triggers or review workflows post-retention

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Real-time consent revocation enforcement

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Proof of deletion logs for compliance reporting

Example in Action:A legal services provider sets a 3-year retention window for client case files. Once the window expires - or if the client withdraws consent earlier - the platform initiates a secure purge workflow and logs the deletion action. These records are retrievable in case of audit.

5. Transparent Communication with Data Principals

Finally, DPDP-compliant workflows must ensure that individuals are informed - not just during consent capture but across the data lifecycle.

This includes:

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Providing access to their own data upon request

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Notifying users when data is shared or processed

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Offering a clear channel for withdrawal, correction, or grievance redressal

Example:A patient receives an email confirmation every time their consent is updated, revoked, or renewed - with a link to review what data is being used and for what purpose.

Role of eSignatures & Consent Management in DPDP Compliance

In a DPDP-regulated environment, eSignatures and digital consent management are not merely tools of convenience - they are critical components of lawful data processing and enforceable accountability.

Whether it's a hospital capturing surgical consent or a legal firm onboarding a client, the ability to prove that consent was obtained, tied to a specific purpose, and executed securely is central to achieving DPDP compliance.

Here's why these two systems - often treated as operational afterthoughts - are now front and center in the compliance strategy of modern organizations.

1. eSignatures as Legal and Regulatory Proof

Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and validated further under the DPDP framework, electronic signatures are legally recognized in India - provided they meet certain conditions around identity, authentication, and integrity.

To be DPDP-compliant, eSignature workflows must offer:

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Signer verification: Email, OTP, Aadhaar-based or system-authenticated identity proof

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Timestamped evidence: Capture of signing time, location (IP), and device metadata

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Tamper-evident sealing: Proof that the document hasn't been altered post-signature

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Complete audit trail: A chain of actions from document generation to execution

Without these, any digital agreement - be it a consent form or contract - risks being challenged in court or flagged during audit.

2. Consent Management: From Passive Checkbox to Active Governance

One of the biggest misconceptions is that placing a checkbox or "I agree" statement is enough to meet DPDP consent requirements. The law calls for specific, informed, purpose-limited, and revocable consent - all of which require far more robust infrastructure than a static form.

A DPDP-compliant consent management system must be able to:

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Present consent in a clear, human-readable format

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Link consent to the exact data use case (not bundled terms)

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Track when, how, and by whom consent was given

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Enable real-time consent withdrawal - with system-wide enforcement

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Store and surface consent logs when required for audit or litigation

Example in Healthcare:A patient provides consent for sharing diagnostic data with an insurer. Six months later, they revoke it. A compliant system ensures the insurer's access is revoked in real time, and the revocation is logged with proof.

Example in Legal Services:A law firm seeks permission to use anonymized case data for internal training. The client opts in. Later, they withdraw. The firm's system disables internal access and logs the action - ensuring lawful processing.

3. Why Manual Consent and Generic Signature Tools Are Inadequate

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, paper-based consent workflows and generic eSignature solutions fall short in multiple ways, posing significant compliance risks for organizations:

Lack of a Verifiable Audit Trail Without a digitally traceable record of consent capture, it becomes impossible to demonstrate that personal data was processed lawfully. This directly undermines compliance with DPDP Act mandates that require evidence of valid, informed consent.

Consent Not Tied to a Specific Purpose Most generic signature tools do not support purpose-specific consent mapping. This leads to blanket or ambiguous approvals, violating the DPDP's strict purpose limitation principles (DPDP Act gov, Section 6(1)).

No Mechanism to Withdraw Consent Manual or static consent systems typically lack a user-accessible option to revoke consent. This infringes on the data principal's right to withdraw consent at any time, as enshrined in DPDP Act gov, Section 6(4).

Insecure Storage and Sharing of Consent Forms Storing signed consent documents in unsecured systems-whether physical or digital-makes sensitive data vulnerable to breaches. This violates Section 8(4) of the Act, which requires reasonable security safeguards for personal data.

Bottom line: If you can't prove who gave consent, for what purpose, when it was captured, and how it was enforced - you're not compliant.

4. Unified Platforms = Seamless Compliance

This is where platforms like Certinal offer a critical advantage: instead of stitching together separate tools for forms, signatures, and compliance, Certinal unifies all of them into one DPDP-ready workflow.

Features include:

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Digitally traceable eSignatures with full audit trail

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Consent lifecycle management (create right capture right enforce right revoke)

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Role-based access and document-level controls

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Encryption, compliance logging, and jurisdictional routing

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Templates for healthcare and legal use cases that embed DPDP principles by design

By combining these capabilities, Certinal doesn't just support DPDP compliance - it operationalizes it across every workflow.

Certinal's Commitment to DPDP Compliance

At Certinal, compliance is not an add-on - it's engineered into the product architecture. As organizations across India prepare for the full enforcement of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Certinal offers a ready-to-deploy solution designed for high-stakes, high-compliance environments like healthcare, legal, BFSI, and public sector operations.

Whether you're capturing patient consent, executing legal contracts, or onboarding clients, Certinal ensures that every interaction is verifiable, secure, and fully aligned with DPDP requirements.

Here's how:

1. Consent Management Built for Indian Regulatory Needs

Certinal's consent workflows are purpose-built for traceability and enforceability:

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Dynamic consent templates with clause-level granularity

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Time-stamped records with signer metadata (IP, device, user ID)

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Consent revocation engine with auto-expiry and downstream enforcement

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Multilingual interfaces to support regional healthcare and legal environments

These features ensure that every consent action can be demonstrated during audit or legal review - not as a claim, but as a verifiable, immutable record.

2. DPDP-Compliant eSignature Workflows

Unlike generic signature tools, Certinal offers:

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Legally recognized digital signatures under the IT Act and global standards (eIDAS, ESIGN)

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Signer authentication via OTP, Aadhaar, or system SSO

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Tamper-evident documents and real-time audit trails

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Encryption at rest and in transit, meeting DPDP's security expectations

Every signed document is not only valid - it's secure, traceable, and audit-ready.

[https://www.certinal.com/compliance/esignature-legality]

3. Platform-Level Compliance Controls

Certinal provides organizations with system-wide features that simplify compliance operations:

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Role-based access controls for sensitive data

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Consent and document lifecycle automation

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Retention and purge workflows aligned with DPDP's storage limitation principle

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Activity logs and access reports for regulators, auditors, or data principal requests

Certinal doesn't just help you meet minimum compliance thresholds - it empowers your teams to operate with confidence, transparency, and accountability.

4. Trusted by Regulated Industries

Certinal is already trusted by leading hospitals, legal departments, and government-aligned organizations across India and Southeast Asia. With a product philosophy rooted in privacy by design, our solutions are ready to support Indian enterprises as DPDP enforcement accelerates in 2025.

Conclusion

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 signals a new era of accountability, transparency, and user rights in India's digital ecosystem. For legal and healthcare professionals, this isn't just about updating policies - it's about rethinking how consent, contracts, and sensitive data are handled at every touchpoint.

True DPDP compliance isn't achieved with paperwork or disclaimers. It's delivered through secure, auditable, workflow-driven platforms that embed compliance into every transaction - from consent capture to final signature.

Certinal enables precisely that.

With built-in consent lifecycle management, legally recognized eSignatures, robust audit trails, and automated access controls, Certinal empowers your teams to move from fragmented workflows to privacy-first, DPDP-compliant digital transactions.

Book a personalized demo [https://www.certinal.com/request-a-demo] to explore how Certinal simplifies compliance - without slowing down your business.

Media Contact
Company Name: Certinal
Contact Person: Cathy Miller
Email:Send Email [https://www.abnewswire.com/email_contact_us.php?pr=dpdp-act-sparks-urgent-overhaul-of-consent-and-data-workflows-in-indian-healthcare]
Phone: 022 6640 7676
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Website: https://www.certinal.com/

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