Anna Oberschelp de Meneses and Kristof Van Quathem write:
On July 17, 2018, the Portuguese Supervisory Authority (“CNPD”) imposed a fine of 400.000 € on a hospital for infringement of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The decision has not been made public. Earlier this week, the hospital publicly announced that it will contest the fine.
According to press reports, the CNPD carried out an investigation at the hospital which revealed that the hospital’s staff, psychologists, dietitians and other professionals had access to patient data through false profiles. The profile management system appeared deficient – the hospital had 985 registered doctor profiles while only having 296 doctors. Moreover, doctors had unrestricted access to all patient files, regardless of the doctor’s specialty. The CNPD reportedly concluded that the hospital did not put in place appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect patient data.
Read more on Covington & Burling Inside Privacy.