The implementation of the European Directive 95/46/EC in the Netherlands with special regard to medical data

Abstract:

The Dutch Parliament adopted the Personal Data Protection Act (Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens, or WBP) on July 6, 2000. The WBP entered into force on September 1, 2001, as an implementation of Directive 95/46/EC.
It also incorporated the Royal Decree on sensitive data that was in force under the old Data Protection Act.

Healthcare needs to handle vast amounts of data, for direct patient care and financing, as well as for research and policymaking. The CBP pointed out last year in healthcare practice too little attention is being paid to the protection of personal data and medical professional secrecy. In this article about the implementation of Directive 95/46/EC in the Netherlands, especially with regard to medical data, the relationship between the WBP and medical professional secrecy is therefore important. This contribution follows the five general lines mentioned in the introduction.