European Data Protection Board Guidelines on processing of health data in the context of COVID-19

Posted on 06.05.2020

On the 22 of April, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published its guidelines on the processing of health data for research purposes in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidelines aim to shed light on the most urgent legal questions concerning the use of health data, such as the legal basis of processing, further processing of health data for the purpose of scientific research, the implementation of adequate safeguards and the exercise of data subject rights.

Lastly, the guidelines also address questions concerning international data transfers involving health data for research purposes related to the fight against COVID-19, in particular in the absence of an adequacy decision or other appropriate safeguards. They are available here.