It is always important to remember that the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) was not designed to make life difficult for organizations, but to protect and promote the interests of individuals.
It’s about giving people control over how their personal data is processed, reducing risk and allowing them to build trust in the companies they interact with.
By coincidence, these two themes – trust and risk – also characterize the major challenges facing the health sector today.
Healthcare organizations can now have clarity on what constitutes health data and have very clear guidelines on when and how they can process it. Of course, nothing is that simple.
The implementation and compliance of the LGPD in the healthcare area is a challenge that promotes important benefits to medical institutions.
LGPD in Healthcare for the Continuous Improvement of Institutions
The collection and transfer of real-time data between service providers in healthcare – from the primary care worker, to the doctor, to the specialists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, social worker, etc – is enabling a more coordinated approach to patient care, which is already delivering better outcomes as well as cost savings.
The typical patient pathway through healthcare providers requires secure data capture across a multitude of devices and platforms, including mobile equipment and the cloud.
This includes developing protocols and standards for sharing and controlling access to data – including providing access to data by patients themselves.
To implement quality medical institutions using LGPD in healthcare, organizations will need robust and sophisticated processes and systems in place.
They should know where the data is at any given time, exactly who can and cannot see what (and perhaps more importantly, who has seen what).
Roles and responsibilities will have to be formal and legally codified and, of course, privacy and security will have to be the standard starting point from which these processes and systems are implemented.
Data protection law improves the relationship between healthcare organizations/providers and their clients
The GDPR in healthcare should lead to better relationships between medical organizations and their customers.
This is largely due to the confidence they will now have in knowing that their personal information is secure and can be easily accessed by themselves if needed.
Customers will be assured that organizations will only keep their personal information if they allow them to do so and it can only be used in ways defined by legislation.
Overall, the GDPR in healthcare should be seen as an opportunity for the organizations involved, as it will provide them with a number of benefits: increased customer satisfaction, improved processes, greater understanding of their data and help to avoid serious fines.
However, healthcare organizations and providers need to ensure that they are always transparent, as situations such as failure to alert a patient about a data breach or misuse of customer information can damage relationships.
LGPD Compliance in Healthcare is Just the Beginning
The data protection law is comprehensive in its scope and adds strict new requirements to any healthcare institution that captures and uses patients’ personal data.
Compliance is not an isolated exercise, but must be incorporated into organizational structures.
When it comes to GDPR in healthcare, a critical component of compliance is the implementation of a complete cybersecurity strategy, with technological solutions that help isolate healthcare organizations’ networks.
Healthcare institutions should not only seek to use tools that provide them with a comprehensive view of their network as it already exists today, but also allow them to adapt quickly to new threats and prevent them before they occur.
The LGPD signaled a significant shift in our collective culture towards data protection law and user privacy.
However, legislation and compliance are just the beginning.
Providing health institutions with a checklist they must follow to avoid fines may cause some movement, but deeper progress can only be made by fundamentally and organizationally prioritizing data privacy and digital security.
Only when organizations are protected against fraud and data theft using secure business processes, strong cybersecurity tools and a comprehensive strategy can personal data be truly protected.
EVAL: We are experts in digital signature
Now that you understand a little more about the use and validation of digital signature, what do you think about implementing our tips in your company?
With a dedicated focus on the healthcare market and a highly specialized team, EVAL offers customized solutions that bring security and agility to the processes of hospitals, laboratories, clinics and healthcare operators.
In addition to contract management, electronic signatures and digital certificates provide a high evidence value for the digital archiving of these documents. Medical institutions can use these tools to avoid paper formation and to digitize existing paper documents.
Contact our team of experts today to find out how EVAL can help your organization manage your contracts and all other medical documents and processes.
About Eval
EVAL has been developing projects in the financial, health, education and industry segments for over 18 years. Since 2004, we have offered Authentication, Electronic and Digital Signature and Data Protection solutions. Currently, we are present in the main Brazilian banks, health institutions, schools and universities, and different industries.
With value recognized by the market, EVAL’s solutions and services meet the highest regulatory standards of public and private organizations, such as SBIS, ITI, PCI DSS, and LGPD. In practice, we promote information security and compliance, increase companies’ operational efficiency, and reduce costs.
Innovate now, lead always: get to know Eval’s solutions and services and take your company to the next level.
Eval, safety is value.
