Such information can be recorded on paper or in digital files and databases, but also in, for example, radio diagnostic film, records of fingerprints and cellular DNA samples. Cellular samples of DNA, in particular, contain very sensitive and unique information about a person’s health and genetics. Medical correspondence with your doctor also contains your medical data. All of this data reveals medical information about a person and allows for his or her identification.

Medical data is collected and stored in clinics and hospitals, but may also be communicated to public health authorities and other public authorities, for example, the police or a court. Data concerning your health can also be used in research in medical science. However, in this case, strict criteria have to be met and as a general rule an individual’s consent is required.

Information contained in medical records relates to an individual’s private life, since that data directly concerns his or her health. Such information has a personal and is a special category of personal data.