EANS-News: Data Protection: Already Meeting Future Legal Compliance Requirements

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Subtitle: CompuGroup Medical develops security technology with more than 14
patents

Koblenz (euro adhoc) - February 17, 2011: Data protection is becoming
increasingly more significant, even for physicians, who belong to a special
occupational category, the so-called "bearers of confidential information". In
order to warrant the security of sensitive personal data, the legislators have
charged them with special duties: if physicians reveal patient-specific data to
unauthorized third parties, they violate current data protection regulations and
as a rule are even liable to prosecution. For that reason, CompuGroup Medical
developed security technology that protects physicians from any legal conflicts,
without being confined to the role of a mere spectator in the linked world of
the future.

The healthcare system is undergoing a sea change: in order to take advantage of
the opportunities to improve and increase quality and efficiency, healthcare
systems are successively being overhauled, e.g. through the implementation of
electronic health records or through the increased outsourcing of
administrative tasks in the medical office and the hospital. However, that also
increases the risk of personal culpability for physicians, due to a breach of
his duty of care regarding data protection.

When health records leave a medical office or hospital, for example because
they are being forwarded to an external service provider, the physician is
personally liable for the protection of this data. He either has to obtain the
patient´s express consent for data forwarding to third parties in advance, or
he has to ensure that the data cannot be viewed by a third party.

Since obtaining such concrete and express declarations of consent is difficult
and sometimes even impossible, third parties, such as the operator of a
computer center, warrant "data protection through armored doors and
confidentiality agreements". However, armored doors can be unlocked and
employees can undoubtedly be unreliable. In theory, given this scenario, it is
always possible for third parties to view personal data.

This is where the physician can collide with the law, particularly with section
203 of the Penal Code because this "data protection", warranted by third
parties, is highly suspect. However, up to now there was no solution anywhere
that could remedy the described deficiencies. There was no security technology
that could prevent the misuse of data from the outset: the technical data
protection.

This is precisely where CompuGroup Medical enters the picture: in order to
protect the patient, and thereby the physician, from a technical aspect and to
decrease administrative expenditures at the same time, the company has
developed a number of innovative processes that have been awarded 14
international patents so far. The utilized technical building blocks meet and
far exceed the legal stipulations for data protection, thereby warranting the
protection of healthcare data at all times.

The implemented security measures already encrypt sensitive information in the
medical office or the hospital prior to transferring it to an external network.
The data is also encrypted or pseudonymised in such a way that it not only
makes unauthorized access impossible, but it is also no longer necessary. This
process was developed for the increasingly popular cloud systems, but can
meanwhile also be utilized in regular computer centers that process data
content, providing complete protection.

As soon as personal data leaves a medical office or a hospital, it can no
longer be used by non-authorized parties. Only the physician or patient can
review the medical data, unauthorized third parties are unable to do so for
technical reasons. The physician is therefore always in compliance with the
law; using the CompuGroup Medical security procedures, he can send or outsource
sensitive data to third parties in a responsible manner.

About CompuGroup Medical AG
CompuGroup Medical is one of the leading e-health companies worldwide. Its
software products, designed to support all medical and organizational
activities in doctors´ offices and hospitals, its information services for all
parties involved in the healthcare system and its web-based personal health
records contribute towards safer and more efficient healthcare. The services of
CompuGroup Medical are based on its unique customer base of around 370,000
doctors, dentists, hospitals and networks as well as other service providers.
CompuGroup Medical is the e-health company with one of the biggest coverage
among e-health service providers worldwide. The company operates in 18 European
countries as well as in Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South
Africa and in the USA and currently employs around 3,300 people.

Further inquiry note:
CompuGroup Medical AG
Barbara Müller
Consultant Press & Media
P +49 (0) 261 8000-1293
F +49 (0) 261 8000-3284
E-Mail: [email protected]
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: CompuGroup Medical AG
Maria Trost 21
D-56070 Koblenz
phone: +49 (0) 261 8000-0
FAX: +49 (0) 261 8000-1166
mail: [email protected]
WWW: www.cgm.com
sector: Software
ISIN: DE0005437305
indexes:
stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Berlin,
Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, München
language: English

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