Safety of the electronic patient file: a conversation with Louisa Specht-Remenschneider

Safety of the electronic patient file: a conversation with Louisa Specht-Remenschneider

Electronic patient files: What does the Federal Data Protection Officer say?

From April 29, the electronic patient file (EPA) is to be established as the standard in medical care. This change raises important questions about data protection and the safety of the patient data. The focus is on the assessment of the responsible Federal Data Protection Officer, Professor Louisa Specht-Remenschneider, who gives an insight into ensuring data protection.

In a recent conversation about the security of the EPA, Specht-Remenschneider emphasized that the responsibility for the security of the electronic patient file lies with the Federal Office of Information Security (BSI). Your role is to ensure that all data processing processes within the EPA meet the legal requirements. This underlines the importance of institutional responsibilities in the protection of sensitive health data.

A central concern when implementing the EPA is the protection of the privacy of the patients. It is therefore crucial that the EPA not only serves as a digital platform for storing health data, but also as a safe place that regulates access to this data. The security standards and the legislative framework conditions must be subjected to strict controls to prevent potential data leaks and abuse.

Some of the greatest challenges to be overcome when introducing the EPA include interoperability between different systems, data protection in cloud -based storage and access to sensitive data. Users must have confidence in the systems to actively use the EPA. This can only be achieved if transparency with regard to the security measures is given.