Portuguese Supervisory Authority (“CNPD”) imposed a fine of 400.000 € on a hospital for the GDPR infringement. The hospital publicly announced that it will contest the fine.
The CNPD carried out an investigation at the hospital which revealed that the hospital’s staff, psychologists, dietitians, and other professionals had access to patient data through false profiles. The profile management system appeared deficient – the hospital had 985 registered doctor profiles while only having 296 doctors. Moreover, doctors had unrestricted access to all patient files, regardless f the doctor’s speciality. The CNPD reportedly concluded that the hospital did not put in place appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect patient data
In its defence, the hospital indicated that it uses the IT system provided to public hospitals by the Portuguese Health Ministry. However, it was the hospital’s responsibility to ensure that the IT system it uses complies with the GDPR.
LEARNING TIP: In order to avoid any security breaches caused by unauthorized access, mishandle and loss of personal data kept in the server or cloud, organizations must implement and technical security measures. Read more about GDPR compliance for the Healthcare sector.
