Note: While HIPAA is a US law, Georgia has its own equivalent — the Law on Personal Data Protection, which imposes a special regime on health data. This service focuses on medical data protection and confidentiality in the Georgian context.
Medical data confidentiality and protection in Georgia are regulated by the new "Law on Personal Data Protection," which is fully aligned with the European GDPR. Health information belongs to "special category" data, requiring the highest standards of protection. Clinics, insurance companies, and pharmacies are obliged to have technical and organizational measures in place to protect patient information. Violations lead to severe fines (up to 5,000 GEL and more). Legal services in this area include developing data protection policies, employee training, incident response, and managing patient complaints.
What Does Health Data Protection Service Cover?
Our lawyers assist the medical sector in ensuring data security:
- Compliance Audit: Checking data processing procedures in the clinic and establishing compliance with GDPR/local law.
- Internal Policies: Developing internal instructions for data protection, archiving, and destruction.
- Consent Forms: Preparing patient informed consent documents for data processing.
- Data Protection Officer (DPO): Outsourcing DPO functions or consulting the internal officer.
- Incident Management: Legal response in case of a Data Breach and notifying the inspector.
- Contracts: Non-disclosure agreements (NDA) with employees and contractors (e.g., IT companies).
Common Scenarios and Needs
Clinics often violate the law by disclosing a patient's diagnosis to third parties (family members, employers) without the patient's written consent. Also problematic is storing medical histories in unsecured archives or computers. In the event of a cyberattack where a patient database is leaked online, the clinic needs immediate crisis management and legal defense.
Georgian Legislation and Regulations
The main act is the "Law on Personal Data Protection." The "Law on Patient Rights" and orders of the Minister of Health on medical record keeping also apply. Supervision is carried out by the Personal Data Protection Service.
The Process: How a Specialist Works
The lawyer conducts an audit: checking who has access to data, how the server and archive are secured. A remediation plan is prepared. The lawyer drafts all necessary forms and conducts training for doctors and registrars. If a violation is discovered, the lawyer represents the clinic before the inspector.
Why Legal.ge?
Health data is the most sensitive information. One mistake can destroy a clinic's reputation. Legal.ge gives you access to lawyers specializing in medical and data protection law. Specialists on our platform will help you maintain patient trust and avoid heavy fines. Protect data with Legal.ge.
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