– Health Minister confirms

A MEDICAL data protection bill for Guyana is expected to be tabled in Parliament very soon, according to Dr. Frank Anthony, the Minister of Health.

The Minister made this disclosure, on Tuesday, while speaking at the launch of the Sixth edition of the Family Health Manual at the Ministry of Health’s headquarters at Brickdam, Georgetown.

During his remarks, he iterated that the ministry recently concluded work on the draft legislation which would deal with data confidentiality.

“If we are going to do electronic health records, then people’s information must be kept confidential. So, you can’t go and steal people’s information,” he said.

According to the health minister, the legislation will see hefty fines being imposed for breach of confidentiality, which he added would start at about $20 Million and even up to $100 million and also include provisions for persons to face imprisonment.

Minister Anthony said that the bill and its consequences serve as a warning to everyone that, as healthcare workers, it is pertinent to ensure the protection of patients’ data.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines, he said that they have been working on the piece of legislation for more than a year and are finally at the point where it would be tabled in parliament.

Emphasising the need for this bill he said, “We need that data architecture because right now we are going to move in the direction of having the electronic health records in another month or so… so we want these legislative things to be in place so once we start implementing health records system that people must be assured that their information would be well kept.”

The bill will help to regulate the collection, storage, processing, use, and dissemination of personal data, all in a private manner. It will consider an individual’s right to privacy and will aid in aligning Guyana with the best international practices on data protection and privacy.