Estonia plans to introduce a requirement for court authorization for investigative authorities to access a person’s medical data without their consent. At the same time, two draft laws prepared in this area may contradict each other, ERR News reports.
Two draft laws on medical data
Current legislation allows medical data to be disclosed without a person’s consent to establish circumstances in criminal proceedings or proceedings concerning other offences. Estonia’s Chancellor of Justice has said that this provision is too broad and requires clarification.
The Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs and the Ministry of Social Affairs have prepared separate draft laws, referred to as the Pakosta and Joller bills after the ministers’ surnames. Minister of Social Affairs Carmen Joller said that her initiative provides for merging three major databases: the prescription register, the Estonian Health Insurance Fund’s treatment billing database, and the centralized national health information system managed by the Health and Welfare Information Systems Centre.
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Concerns over access
According to Joller, her draft law does not directly define the procedure for disclosing data or the cases in which patient consent is required. Instead, the Pakosta bill sets conditions for officials’ access to medical information.
Lawyer Kari Ginter warned that Joller’s initiative would effectively expand access to medical data, while the Pakosta bill would substantially restrict it. Joller explained that following the planned changes, medical institutions will be able to provide such data only on the basis of a court order or with court authorization.
The police supported clearer rules, including on what data and in which proceedings law enforcement officers may request. Police and Border Guard Board representative Roger Kumm noted that medical data may serve as evidence, including in investigations of road accidents. Margus Arm, director of the Health and Welfare Information Systems Centre, said that the institution would act in accordance with the new legal safeguards.
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