ADC at the Ibero-American Meeting on Data Protection
The Association for Civil Rights attended the 2023 edition of the Ibero-American Meeting on Data Protection. ADC was represented by its project officer, Luis García Balcarce, who made a presentation on February 27 titled “Privacy is health: An insight into the healthcare technologies deployed in Argentina and their impact on data protection”.
The meeting, organized by the Ibero-American Data Protection Network (RIPD), was held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. ADC participated in the virtual mode in the section dedicated to healthcare data privacy. García Balcarce reviewed two major aspects regarding the issue in Argentina: electronic health records and teleconsultations.
Concerning the former, currently under public debate due to a draft bill submitted to the National Congress, he explained that “although consent is not required, healthcare providers and doctors must comply with all the other data protection principles”.
Regarding the latter, García Balcarce challenged optimistic views on e-consultations and their scope, highlighting that considering the current social gap in terms of connectivity, “Telemedicine can reinforce, rather than reduce, the existing inequality”.
To close his presentation, our project officer emphasized the risks posed by the modernization of healthcare without considering the handling of patient data. “We must create an information security culture and establish data protection authorities with the expertise and resources to be able to supervise these standards”.
The meeting was attended by civil society and government representatives from all over the region, including Beatriz de Anchorena, Head of the Access to Public Information Agency, and María Julia Giorgelli, Deputy Director of the Center for Data Protection, on behalf of Argentina.
