A few days ago on the possibility of easily obtaining information about what each of us takes prescription drugs. It was enough that medics, after logging into the system for issuing prescriptions, declared that they were collecting data with our consent or in order to save lives and provided our PESEL number. In this way, they could access the history of the medicines prescribed to us.
The Ministry reacts to media reports. The doctor will not check everyone’s prescription history
This way of getting to know information about the patient was supposed to solve the problems related to the recent change in regulations. The Ministry of Health recently limited the possibility of writing prescriptions for certain drugs (e.g. strong painkillers). However, he threw the baby out with the bath water, as many doctors claimed that he had a problem with issuing any prescription. A special field in the form was supposed to do the trick. And it actually did, because after checking the “tick” the problems with access to the system magically disappeared. However, there were voices that access to sensitive data is too simple and too wide. The problem was first reported by TVN and the TVN24 portal.
On Tuesday evening, the Ministry of Health announced that it was temporarily blocking a new way of obtaining information about prescriptions. It was decided to “temporarily suspend the possibility for doctors to gain access to data in office systems based on the PESEL number”. The ministry confirmed that the reason were reports that some authorized persons “could abuse access to data”.
The Minister of Digitization assured that the system is safe
The issue of possible gaps in the system was commented on by the Minister of Digitization, Janusz Cieszyński. First on X, then in an interview with TVN24. He explained that access requires logging in with the doctor’s data, and each operation in the system is recorded, which makes it possible to determine who has accessed our data. “If someone did it illegally, an attempt can be made to determine the perpetrator, and traces are usually easier to secure than in the case of paper documentation,” he wrote on social media.
He also addressed the issue on the air of the station. – I watched yesterday’s material in “Fakty” TVN, where twice a doctor, in this case the president of the Chief Medical Chamber, after obtaining the patient’s consent, could read the data about him that are in the system. And it is the patient’s consent that is fundamental in this case, because in health care most things happen after we, as patients, express consent – he explained.
These translations were deemed insufficient. – Minister Cieszyński says that this is criminal liability, if the doctor does not have this consent, and he clicks that he has consent, then he broke the law. But Minister Cieszyński knows that the doctor broke the law. And the officials in e-Zdrowie know. And we, the citizens, do not know about it – Marek Nowicki, the author of the material, commented on TVN24.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
