NIL's 7: Polish patient doesn't feel his data is safe

- The basis for success in health care is trust, and we see this trust in the doctor-patient relationship on a daily basis, or in the patient's relationship with all other health care professionals. And one of the main tasks for the Ministry of Health at the moment is to rebuild this trust, because it has been badly, very badly violated," says Piotr Pisula, chairman of the Health Care Violations Team of the Supreme Medical Council, referring to the publicizing on social media of his sensitive data and information about his prescription by former Health Minister Adam Niedzielski.

Violations of personal data laws by the then head of the Health Ministry were reported to the Prosecutor's Office, the Office for Personal Data Protection, the Ombudsman and the Patient Ombudsman, and the NRL established the above-mentioned Team to monitor, record and prevent abuses that harm the safety of patients and doctors and impede the smooth functioning of the health care system in Poland.

According to Piotr Pisula, patients' trust can only be regained through transparent actions, which is why, within the framework of the NIL seven, the medical self-government has appealed to the new minister to conduct an internal audit at the Ministry of Health and the Ministry's subordinate unit, the e-Health Center, on the e-safety of medical data, and to immediately disclose the results of this audit to the public.

The example of proper functioning of the system and securing personal data should "come from the top," so the ministry must show that it is worthy of trust, and that doctors and patients can feel safe. - Today the Polish patient does not feel that his data is absolutely safe. Today, the Polish patient has a lot of doubts, and this translates not only into his opinion of the Ministry of Health, but also translates into the relationship precisely between the doctor and the patient, for example, because the patient does not distinguish so much between the Ministry and the doctor who treats him. For him it is the health care system, the place where he is to be treated," concludes the chairman of the Health Violations Team.

Source: NIL