by Doctors are “seeing” a breach of patients’ personal medical data, due to the coronavirus pandemic, as the country’s medical associations have recorded numerous related incidents.
Specifically, the Heraklion Medical Association of Crete, which has received numerous complaints from citizens, regarding doctors who allegedly breached personal data in patients’ electronic medical records.
“Recently, we have been receiving complaints from citizens, insured by EOPYY, for breach of personal data in their electronic health record, by doctors” they point out.
The Order of Physicians draws the attention of its members, asking them to ensure the consent of the patient, before consulting his medical history, in particular during the electronic prescription.
Indeed, it recommends to the doctor not to enter the part of the patient’s file which concerns his history, even if he has his consent, if before, “you have not already opened a visit to the IDIKA, or s ‘acting from hospital doctors if the patient is not hospitalized or does not actively visit outpatient clinics’.
Anna Mastorakou: “During the pandemic, personal data was not effectively protected”
Speaking to iatropedia.gr, the President of the Union of EOPYY Physicians (ENI EOPYY), Anna Mastorakou, claims that there has recently been a significant “loophole” in the IDIKA system.
This “leak” was caused by the emergency measures taken during the pandemic, he says.
“There was a shield before COVID-19 on personal data, but since the pandemic there has been a relaxation. In the period before COVID, there was a mobilization of doctors to protect the personal data of patients, but then, when the pandemic arrived, it relaxed too much, until “crime”, he notes. he.
However, it is a fact, as Anna Mastorakou asserts, that the pandemic gave rise to serious reasons for the protection of public health and that is why “transparency” was required in the data concerning the illness of citizens in cause of COVID-19.
This has, however, led to a “relaxation” in the protection of personal data by the IDIKA system.
“When, for example, we announced patient test results on gov.gr, we weren’t sure who ‘sees’ those results. Can only the recipient see them? Do others see that? “Because IDIKA was also informed and Civil Protection was informed. Many agencies involved knew – for public health reasons – if a citizen was positive or was in quarantine. There was a great expansive interpretation and I do not can’t say that the world and society were protected there, that is to say the one who was positive”, he notes.
THE Ministry of Digital Governanceinitiated even greater protection of citizens’ personal data, as with the completion of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) in the near future, citizens’ sensitive data may be exposed.
“The ‘relaxation’ in the shielding of personal data was of course done for public health reasons. Why shouldn’t the person who tested positive be allowed to walk around, the person next to them should be shielded, etc. “But from the point of view of personal data protection, this was very problematic. But now that Kyriakos Pierrakakis has announced that all the results of the examinations will be on gov.gr, it is absolutely necessary to have some assurance”, says the president of the doctors of the EOPYY.
What should be done
The Order of Physicians of Heraklion stresses that remote prescription procedures must be followed, through the intangible process, and specifies that they must be used to re-prescribe treatments to chronic patients whose medical history is known.
Anna Mastorakou adds that only the patient must authorize access to the EPH’s personal medical data.
“The citizen who is entitled to his personal data must give permission to the doctor. Anyone who enters the system cannot freely see which exams Gianna Soulaki or Mastorakou are taking. No. It is not allowed. There must be protection of personal data. The only beneficiary is the citizen and only the citizen will give the right to bring this result to the treating doctor. Because tomorrow the day after tomorrow, the doctor can change. And the patient can go to the next one. It is It is therefore, for the moment, a ‘gap’ in the system. It is an ‘escape'”, as he puts it.
Finally, the President noted that the access only with personal passwords.
“We have identified it and we have said it, that this system does not work as it should. There must be protection, by “codes” which belong to the user and to which he gives access, when and if he wishes, to his doctor or healthcare professional. This mainly concerns EDIKA. We, as ENI EOPYY, had made a presentation of our vision of the system, with the medical file, etc. We had a meeting with digital government staff and we said about safeguarding personal data, and that it needs to have consents in many places. And we also sent out a specific memorandum,” concludes Anna Mastorakou.
Gianna Soulaki / Source: iatropedia.gr
