EDPS opinion on patients' rights: specific data protection dimension of cross-border healthcare needs to be addressed in more concrete terms

On 2 December 2008, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted an opinion on a proposal for a Directive on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare. The proposal aims at establishing a Community framework for the provision of cross-border healthcare within the European Union (EU) for those occasions where the care patients seek is provided in another Member State than in their home country. The implementation of such a scheme requires the exchange of personal data relating to the health of patients between authorized organisations and healthcare professionals of different Member States.