Protection of personal data in the course of rendering health care

Health care services is an area, in which is, with regard to specific nature of processed information, needed to pay special attention to personal data protection of patients. Act that used to regulate this kind of relations for more than 40 years was the Act on Care and Health of Nation. Taking into consideration its historic time of origin and paternalistic theory, on which it was based upon, and despite passage of Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine meaning significant deviation from up to now paternalistic theory, this Act was not able stand under the Czech republic international obligations, principles of democratic legal state and last but not least rapid technological progress,. Therefore it was replaced by Medical Services Act, which is in full compliance with approach that sees relation between physician and patient as equal. One of cornerstones in area of personal data protection in health care services is concept of rule of secrecy, to which is obliged mainly provider of health care, but also other persons stated in the Act. Violation of rule of secrecy is punished. Threat of penal sancion for violation of rule of secrecy highlights the importance of protection of presonal data in health care area. Although under circumstances specified by the law is possible to unveil rule of..