Ministry still pushing for central national EHR via backrooms

The new 'National SPD': unnecessary, undesirable and unacceptable

In addition to critical input in a open consultation Privacy First sent out a notice about this early this week alarming letter to the House of Representatives. Privacy First considers the Online Consent Facility (OTV/Mitz) proposal unnecessary, undesirable, unacceptable and a serious violation of patient privacy.

The OTV is a further development of the National Switch Point (LSP), the implementation of the 'National SPD' rejected by the Senate in 2011. Despite the Minister of Medical Care and Sport repeatedly claiming to be heading for a data exchange within the care process, the Healthcare Information Council persists in using a centralised infrastructure.

For patients, this has draconian consequences: if you say 'no' to participating in the OTV, medical data can no longer be exchanged. Even sending a prescription, or paper records, will then no longer be possible. In this way, patients are forced to break medical confidentiality and accept broad, unfocused disclosure of their medical data.

In 2014, the right to opt-in enshrined in law. This is now being effectively undone via the OTV. The Care Information Council, together with Health Insurers Netherlands, is taking the legislator's seat. Privacy First considers this pertinently unacceptable from a democratic point of view.

Subsequently, the 'open consultation' on this turned out to be anything but 'open'. Submissions were allowed to an e-mail address. No correspondence will be entered into on the other input. Other input we know of is from NUTS Foundation, Whitebox and Care ICTcare.

To be continued...

Click here for Privacy First's input to the consultation (pdf).
Click HERE for the letter from Privacy First To the House of Representatives (pdf).