GDPR: Security And Protection For Healthcare Sector

Data protection regulations define how an individual’s personal data can be used and processed by organizations, businesses and government sectors. These regulations also need to ensure healthcare data is not susceptible to attack, misuse or misappropriation.

In the case of health care providers, they are processing special categories of personal information from patients where the structure of care provision, there is a number of challenges that need to be handled by healthcare sector as they collect and process most important information like, various links in the patients’ data chain.

The data concerning health will be subject to a higher standard of protection than personal data in general.

-Data concerning health
-Genetic data
-Biometric data

The processing of these three forms of health data is prohibited unless one of several conditions applies.

Under new GDPR rules and regulations they only allow to process data in the health sector under this special category when it applies to some of the following circumstances:

-When the processing is needed to protect the vital interests of the person concerned or another physical person in case the person concerned is not able to give their consent.
-When the processing is needed for preventative medicine or work purposes, work capacity assessment of the worker, medical diagnosis, provision of health or social care or treatment, or managing the health and social care systems and services under a contract with a health professional.
-When the treatment is needed for reasons of public interest in the area of public health.

Under the GDPR, there is a rule to appoint a data protection officer (DPO) in some circumstances. In the healthcare sector this will mostly be where, as a core activity, health data of the three kinds mentioned above is processed on a large scale. The GDPR also allows for EU Member States to require DPOs to be appointed in circumstances other than those set out under the GDPR.

With the GDPR, the level of information that all users should receive from those responsible for processing their data increases. In this respect, the information provided should contain the following details as a minimum:

-The contact details of the Data Protection Officer when they are appointed.
-The legal base or legitimacy for processing.
-The period or criteria for storing information.
-The existence of automated decisions or profiling.
-The expected transfers to third countries.
-The right to file a complaint to the Control Authority.

Organizations should be made ready themselves to ensure their compliance with the new regulations of the GDPR by taking steps to understand their existing position and to prevent your organisation from heavy penalties.