Approved in 2018, the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) came into force in Brazil in September, with the premise of protecting the privacy and freedom of citizens and consumers. The legislation defines rules for the use, collection, storage, and sharing of user data by public and private companies. Among these data are those considered “personal”, the information that allows someone to be identified. Within this concept, the category “sensitive data” was created, which requires an even higher level of protection, as it concerns information on racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, political opinions, health or sexual life. The purpose of the law is to prevent forms of discrimination based on this data.

In view of the beginning of the LGPD term here in Brazil, the project “Protection of personal data in digital healthcare services”, managed by Fiotec, entered into execution in November. Coordinated by the researcher Aldo Pontes Moura, from the Institute of  Scientific and Technological Communication and Information in Health (ICICT / Fiocruz), the initiative aims to produce and disseminate knowledge about the intersection between the use of digital technologies in health and the citizens’ right to data protection.

Through the identification of risks and vulnerabilities to personal data protection in the processes and practices adopted by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and by the private healthcare market, leading to the formulation of recommendations and good practices for the use of such data, the project aims at contributing to the strengthening of the culture of personal data protection in the health area.

This culture has already begun to be promoted at Fiotec itself. On November 23 and 27, the institution held workshops that raised awareness and trained the entire professional body about LGPD. The debates were chaired by Davis Alves, president of the National Association of Data Privacy Professionals (ANPPD), the body responsible for supervising and regulating the General Data Protection Law here in Brazil.

With information from UOL news portal.