Doctors at the family doctor's office or emergency room may only view medical records at their family doctor's office through an electronic exchange system with the consent of corona patients. Those who have not yet given their consent may do so on the spot. This may also be done verbally in this case. Only if a patient is unable to give consent is inspection without consent permitted.
The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP) made this known in a letter to the Minister of Medical Care (1). The minister is working on a regulation for during the corona crisis.
This plan should allow medical records to be accessed without explicit patient consent through electronic exchange systems, such as the National Switch Point (LSP).
Patients often see a doctor other than their own general practitioner during corona crisis. For example, at the family doctor's office or the emergency room.
That doctor must then assess what treatment the patient needs. To do this, the doctor must know whether the patient is at increased risk due to heart problems, for example. This medical information is in the doctor's file.
That review is now too slow, the minister argues. This is because doctors cannot view the medical records of some of the patients through an electronic exchange system.
In fact, this is only allowed if a patient has given prior written consent. There is a group of patients who never made a choice. And thus have not given or refused consent.
The AP understands the desire to relax the rules. At the same time, the AP points out that even during times of crisis, patient privacy must be respected.
Medical data is sensitive, highly personal information. That data is subject to physician medical confidentiality. Patients must be able to trust that healthcare providers will handle their medical data with extreme care.
The minister's plan does not change anything for people who have already given consent or, conversely, refused consent. In either case, that choice will continue to be respected.
In addition, there is a large group of people who have not yet transmitted a choice. The minister's proposal allows their medical records to be shared without their consent. This does not involve their entire medical records, but only the professional summary.
The AP finds that acceptable. However, the AP does believe that those patients should instead be able to give permission on the spot, at the doctor's office or emergency room, to actually access their medical records at the doctor's office. This can also be done verbally.
Is someone unable to give consent on the spot? For example, because the person is unconscious? Then the doctor may view the medical record without this patient's consent.
The AP advises people to think carefully about their choice now, before they may get sick. Have people previously refused consent? If so, they should realize that this may cause health care providers to miss crucial information should they end up in the emergency room.
In fact, those who have previously refused consent cannot reverse that on the spot. It is then impossible to view the medical record because it is not included in the electronic exchange system.
So people who want to change their choice must do so in advance. This can be done through the doctor or the Volgjezorg (2) website.
https://www.autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/sites/default/files/atoms/files/brief_medisch_dossier_corona.pdf
https://www.volgjezorg.nl/
