Estonian doctors call for restricting police access to medical data — ERR News

In Estonia, the Medical Association sent an open letter to Social Affairs Minister Karmen Joller demanding that police and other state authorities' access to patients' medical records be restricted. Doctors believe that obtaining such data through state information systems without the patient's consent should be stopped, ERR News reports.

The medical association's position

Estonian Medical Association President Neeme Tõnisson said that the relationship between a doctor and a patient is based on trust, and the confidentiality of medical information is a fundamental principle of professional ethics. According to him, a situation in which police and other state authorities have access to medical records is unacceptable and threatens trust in the entire healthcare system.

The association insists that access to such data in exceptional cases, clearly defined by law, should be granted only by court order. The health information system and its administrator, TEHIK, fall within the responsibility of the social affairs minister.

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The minister's response

Joller said on social media that legislative amendments are already being prepared jointly with the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs and are expected to be submitted to the government soon. She also stressed that TEHIK acted in accordance with the current legislation.

According to the minister, the Police and Border Guard Board, whose employees sometimes requested medical records without sufficient justification, has already changed its practice. At the same time, Joller called on the medical association to pay attention to cases in which medical professionals share information about patients on social media, at conferences, or during training.

She noted that a patient's written consent is required to use their medical history, and it must explain the place, time, and manner in which the information will be used. Estonia's Data Protection Inspectorate has also stated that medical confidentiality applies to all information obtained during treatment, not only to the diagnosis.