In the German state of Bremen, the use and transmission of sensitive patient information and health data by fax machine will be prohibited starting in 2022 and will be punished as an illegality with fines of up to 20 million euros. This deterrent sum is intentionally set so high because fax transmissions offer no protection of data upon receipt. Sending a fax is equivalent to sending a postcard, according to the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information in Bremen and the Data Protection Officer of the Health Foundation, Thomas Brehm.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) stipulates that if the data principle of confidentiality is breached, the relevant supervisory authority has the duty to impose heavy penalties. Brehm therefore recommends better alternatives to escape the catalog of fines. From next year onwards, according to the authorities, a misplaced fax would be considered illegal and punished, even if physicians produce the argument that they have always and frequently used the fax machine.
Experts therefore suggest secure communication channels, which include KIM services developed by gematik to send findings, X-rays, billing statements and other important patient information worthy of protection. A list of manufacturers offering KIM services for securely sending telematics infrastructure (TI) data can be found on the Internet under the gematik portal heading.
Source: www.gesundheits-adhoc.de