Medical data protection in Europe : new rules vs. actual trends

Abstract

1995 is set to be a key year for the rules governing medical data in Europe: the Council of Europe is in the process of approving the final draft of a new Recommendation on the Protection of Medical Data while the member states of the European Union have adopted a directive on data protection. The paper wiIl present: i. some of the interim results of the University of Malta’s LEXIMP 9 Project reporting on the extent to which the Council of Europe's 1981 Recommendation on Data Protection in the Medical sector was actually implemented in the 34 member states of the Council of Europe. This project includes a comparative analysis of specific rules, relevant case-law and other relevant regulations; ii. an ovenliew of the new Council of Europe Recommendation on Medical Data, specifically addressing confidentiality, access to data and information integrity; iii. the relevance of the EU Directive.