Lack of Reliable Data for Policy and Medical Research

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Much of the public health policy formulation in India relies upon data collected from poorly maintained records, or from surrogate sources. In the absence of reliable data, the regulatory authorities and policy makers are often flying blind, observing obsolete and flawed protocols, or formulating policies that are not relevant to the current needs of the people. During several public health crises in developed countries, recently, the hospitals were rapidly able to implement new guidelines required to deal with the potentially dangerous epidemics like Ebola and Zika. With a flick of a button, new treatment guidelines and hospital policies get deployed institution-wide or nation-wide.

Insufficient data is also a major impediment for the type of research which relies upon large data volumes for good results. Many valuable insights and discoveries can be made if large volume of accurate data collected within NEMRS during patient care is made available to the researchers.