Rights regarding the health data file

Right to access the file

You have the right to access your file. For example, to view X-rays, diagnoses and operation reports. This does not include personal work notes from your care provider. You also have the right to know who has looked at your file (logging).

Electronic access

You have the right to electronic access and an electronic copy of your file. This also applies to the data your healthcare provider shares with other healthcare providers via an electronic exchange system.

Free of charge

Healthcare providers may not charge anything when you exercise your right of access. Your healthcare provider may only charge a reasonable fee if you request multiple paper copies.

This also applies in the event of an unfounded or excessive request, for example, if you make a request very often. In such a case, your healthcare provider may even refuse your request.

Exception to right of access

If you request access to your file, but this would harm someone else’s privacy (someone who is not your care provider), your healthcare provider may refuse to allow you to access a certain part of the file.

Your healthcare provider must be able to demonstrate that this is the case. Furthermore, the interests of the other person’s privacy must outweigh your interests. For example, if a family member has confidentially passed on information that is included in your file.

Right to rectification of the file

You have the right to have the personal data in your file rectified (adjusted or supplemented). Your right to rectification is regulated in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You are also entitled to correction and supplementation under the Medical Treatment Contracts Act (WGBO).

You can have certain data corrected, such as errors in your name or date of birth. If you disagree with your care provider’s impressions or conclusions, you cannot have them corrected.

During treatment, keeping track of your health data is necessary for proper treatment. The healthcare provider decides on a case-by-case basis whether correction is possible. The healthcare provider follows the GDPR and WGBO. You can always have an additional statement added to your file.

Right to deletion of health data

After your treatment, you can ask for the data from your file to be destroyed. The healthcare provider must comply with such a request, unless there are more important interests of others.

Right to data portability

People have the right to take personal data from their file and transfer it to others.

What data can be transferred

The personal data that you as a patient have actively and consciously provided is covered by the right to data portability. This also applies to data you have indirectly provided by using a service or a device. For example, the data generated by a pacemaker or blood pressure monitor.

What data cannot be transferred

Other data in the file is not covered by the right to data portability. This includes the conclusions, diagnoses, suspicions or treatment plans that your care provider determines based on the information you have provided.

The file of a child

As an authoritative parent, you also have certain rights regarding your minor child’s file. What exactly these rights are, depends on the age of your child.

• If your child is under the age of 12, you - as the authoritative parent(s) - have the right to request access to your child’s file.
• If your child is between 12 and 15 years old, you, as the authoritative parent(s) and child, jointly or separately, have the right to request access to the file.
• From the age of 16, authoritative parents no longer have access to the file, unless the child gives its consent.

The file of a family member

Patients who cannot stand up for their own interests often have a legal representative. This is a mentor or curator appointed by the judge. In the absence of a mentor or curator, you can be someone’s representative if you are the patient’s spouse, partner, parent, child, brother or sister.

As a legal representative, you have the right to request access, correction, addition or deletion of the file of the person you represent. You have these rights under the WGBO. However, your request must be in line with so-called proper representation. The care provider can refuse certain things, if this is part of proper care provision.

Family members who are not the (legal) representative of the patient do not have the right to access, correction or deletion.