Disability certificates in India: a challenge to health privacy.

A “disability certificate” is necessary to access benefits afforded under the Persons with Disabilities Act (1995) in India. This paper analyses this requirement and concludes that it constitutes a major challenge to maintaining privacy of health information especially for persons with mental health disabilities in India and recommends modifications in the certificate’s format and use, to reduce the magnitude of privacy infringement for those using the disability certificate to access benefits to which they are legally entitled.