GroenLinks: minister must rule out the possibility of the US having access to EPD data

GroenLinks wants Minister Edith Schippers of VWS to ensure that it companies that process data for electronic patient files can guarantee that foreign governments cannot gain access to medical data. Reference is made in particular to the US.

The so-called client rights in the processing of medical data will be discussed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. These should provide a legal framework for the exchange of medical data. After government plans for the electronic patient record at a public level proved politically unfeasible, private initiatives are still trying to implement a similar system, called the Landelijk SchakelPunt.

There is a lot of resistance against the National Switch Point. GroenLinks demands that the responsible minister Schippers will ensure that IT companies responsible for the storage of patient files cannot be forced to share data with foreign governments. The opposition party refers in particular to the American company CSC, which is involved in the management of the National Switch Point.

The FISA law gives US government agencies, such as the NSA, the right to request data from any company operating in the US. GroenLinks calls this dangerous and hopes that with strict requirements, the minister can prevent, for example, the customs of another country from refusing people entry on the basis of information that they have a contagious disease. For example, people with HIV or AIDS were not allowed to enter the US until January 1, 2010.

The SP is also critical of the plans for a National Switch Point. According to the opposition party, thousands of healthcare providers will have access to one system, making it extremely vulnerable to errors and privacy violations.