Abstract

Data governance in the healthcare sector is a crucial element in ensuring the security, privacy, and integrity of confidential patient information. This paper addresses the challenges and opportunities related to sharing health data with data intermediation service providers, in partnership with hospitals. The research highlights the importance of complying with legal standards, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Governance Regulation, in data intermediation processes, emphasizing the need for conducting data protection impact assessments, adopting cybersecurity practices, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Effective data governance policies not only facilitate innovation in the healthcare sector but also strengthen public trust, creating a secure and efficient environment for using health data. The study also analyzes the infringement process initiated against Portugal by the European Commission in 2024, due to its failure to transpose the Data Governance Regulation, a European Union regulation that aims to improve data usage and facilitating its sharing, between the public and private sectors within the European bloc.

Keywords:Data governance; Digital health; Data protection; General data protection regulation; Data protection impact assessment