Weakening of GDPR risks confidentiality and patient data
CPME President Dr Ole Johan Bakke said “The changes proposed in the Digital Omnibus go far beyond a targeted technical modification of the GDPR. European doctors’ primary concern in the roll out of digital tools is the risk to medical confidentiality and patient data. This proposal does not reassure those fears.”
CPME Vice President Dr Jacqueline Rossant-Lumbroso added “The patient-doctor relationship is based on trust. Weakening personal data protection safeguards impacts on patient’s privacy and undermines the quality and safety of electronic health data processing, critical to generating reliable data for safe digital solutions.”
CPME Rapporteur on Data, dr. Sjaak Nouwt said “The Commission’s proposal brings several risks. For example, in the context of digital healthcare platforms and online medicine sales, it will be easier to profile patients, to infer sensitive data, such as the health status, without sufficient justification.
“We also fear that the weakening of GDPR will facilitate the unethical reuse of health-related data for commercial purposes, such as expanding options to track users’ devices and enabling the illegal sale of health data.”
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