In February 2021, the European Commission (“Commission”) released a report on European Union (“EU”) Member States’ laws governing the processing of health data. The report discusses three general types of health data uses: primary use for health care services; secondary use for public health purposes; and secondary use for scientific research purposes. For each of … Continue Reading
On February 2, 2021, the European Data Protection Board (“Board”) responded to questions submitted by the European Commission (“Commission”) on the application of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) to health research. The Board also announced that it is currently working on guidelines on the processing of personal data for scientific research purposes, which it … Continue Reading
On March 28, 2020, the “Federal Act for the Protection of the Population against an Epidemic of National Significance” (Bevölkerungsschutzgesetz) went into effect. The law forms part of an emergency legislative package introduced by the German government in response to COVID-19. The law amends the Social Code V (SGB V) by introducing a new provision … Continue Reading
Over the past several days, Germany Supervisory Authorities and health authorities have issued statements and guidance about the handling of personal data in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this blog, we consider some these statements in greater detail, as well as their implications for employers and employees.… Continue Reading
On March 28, 2019, the Council of Europe* issued a new Recommendation on the protection of health-related data. The Recommendation calls on all Council of Europe member states to take steps to ensure that the principles for processing health-related data (in both the public and private sector) set out in the Appendix of the Recommendation … Continue Reading
In early November, the Dutch Supervisory Authority released an injunction imposed against the public insurance body Uitvoeringsinstituut Werkgeversverzekering (“UWV”) last July. The UWV allows employers to submit data about their employees for social security purposes. The data includes dates of employee absences due to general illness (and when an employee is pregnant or gave birth, … Continue Reading
