Sammanfattning
The Health Act of October 2007 lays down a series of guidelines for collecting and forwarding patient data of patients who are in contact with the Danish health services. The article focuses on the extent to which the legal rights of patients are met during data processing, both within and across different IT-systems.
The project demonstrates that patients' ability to consent to collection and forwarding of data varies, depending on which system is used. Patient consent is not carried forward when data is exchanged between systems. The consequence is, therefore, that patient rights are not fully met in existing IT-systems and patients are mislead into believing that they have a legal status which cannot, in reality, be met in all IT-systems. A solution should therefore be found which is achievable for all technologies, health personnel and - not least - for patients.
The article is based on a Master's thesis in health informatics "Maintaining patients' legal rights across IT systems", which can be read at www.patientdatasikkerhed.dk