The processing of patient data plays a crucial role in healthcare. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Dutch GDPR Implementation Act include provisions for processing health data. Additionally, more specific provisions are prescribed by, for example, the Data in Healthcare Additional Provisions Act (Wabvpz) and the Client Rights Act for Electronic Data Processing in Healthcare.
Moreover, various healthcare-specific laws exist to ensure the quality of health care and medical scientific research, which also include provisions for processingpatient data. Examples are the Medical Treatment Act (WGBO), the Social Support Act (WMO), the Healthcare Quality, Complaints and Disputes Act (WKKgz) and the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (Wmo).
Pursuant to the Individual Healthcare Professions Act (BIG Act), a number of medical professional groups are required to register. We advise on the BIG Act and the practice of naming and shaming in disciplinary measures.
Intellectual property law and IT law are also areas of law that are becoming increasingly relevant in the healthcare sector. We advise on copyright law, trademark law, trade name law, database law, licensing and confidentiality agreements.
We also have unique knowledge of the legal challenges at the intersection of healthcare and ICT, such as electronic patient records, software for data exchange and cloud solutions. We advise on drafting and reviewing IT contracts, such as software development agreements, SaaS agreements, service level agreements and (sub) data processing agreements.
