By Miriam Friedmann
04. July 2022

Bavarian legislation allows cloud storage of patient data

Bavarian hospitals are allowed to have patient data processed by other hospitals and external service providers since June 1, 2022, as long as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is complied with. We briefly summarize the advantages of processing patient data in the cloud and what opportunities you should look out for.

New legislation creates framework for cloud-based value-added services

New legislation in the Bavarian Hospital Act (BayKrG) makes it easier for hospitals in Bavaria to store patient data centrally on cloud technology and to use new cloud-based value-added services in a legally secure manner.

Hospital chains with several locations particularly benefit from the new regulation. Individual hospitals can also increase the efficiency of their healthcare services, optimize their quality assurance or improve AI algorithms by using digital value-added services.

"Data protection must serve the patient's well-being, not an end in itself. The new Health Services Act marks the beginning of a new era for the data protection provisions of the Bavarian Hospital Act. Overall, the protection of patient data in hospitals will be improved with the data protection provisions of the GDPR - and the work in the hospitals will also be made considerably easier," Bernhard Seidenath, Chairman of the Committee for Health and Care in the Bavarian State Parliament, is quoted as saying on the website of the Bavarian Hospital Association.

Benefits of cloud storage for patient data

Storing patient data in the cloud has numerous advantages: less IT infrastructure needs to be maintained in the hospital and the central storage of data makes reporting across several clinic locations easier.

As a result, staff shortages in individual clinics can be offset and the capacity of personnel and materials can be used more efficiently. At the same time, data hygiene is increased and duplications of stored data, e.g. on servers at different locations, is avoided.

Protecting patient data in the cloud

The selection of a suitable partner is important for the successful use of cloud technology in the healthcare context. Patient data should be treated sensitively and the relevant paragraphs of the GDPR must be complied with at all times.

In addition, the framework conditions must be documented and defined in a data processing agreement (DPA) with the respective partners.

High security level for cloud storage

The security level of cloud infrastructures is generally high - often even higher than the level that the local IT infrastructure can provide.

However, the data must be reliably protected against unauthorized access. This can be ensured by limiting access rights and by encrypting the data.

Cloud infrastructure for digital patient data

A cloud specifically for hospitals

As an experienced partner for the management of highly sensitive medical data, Telepaxx offers, a cloud-based, GDPR-compliant and vendor-neutral archive for medical images and findings with the TMD Cloud.

This ensures data protection while enabling the use of innovative, cloud-based software solutions.

Digitization of hospitals advances

Digitization through cloud services is essential for positioning hospitals well for the future and ensuring high-quality healthcare in the face of increasing cost pressure and staff shortage.

Digital value-added services based on cloud technology can optimize processes in hospitals and introduce new healthcare services. This reduces effort for medical staff and enables hospitals to use their resources more efficiently, e.g., through a more cost-effective IT infrastructure in the cloud and strategic concepts for AI-based data analysis and use.

Politics promotes the expansion of the cloud

Politicians have also recognized the great importance of digitization for the hospital landscape. At the federal level, the Hospital Future Act supports the digitization of German hospitals. Act 7 of the Hospital Future Act also explicitly promotes the development of cloud infrastructure.

At the state level, the Bavarian Hospital Act promotes digitization. Christina Leinhos, deputy managing director of the Bavarian Hospital Association, is also positive about this:

"This is an important step for Bavarian clinics, which is on the agenda in all German states, because data protection today can no longer stop at local and state borders. In the area of digitization, the legal regulations reached their critical limits: for example, it was not possible for Bavarian hospitals to implement cloud projects as envisaged by the Hospital Future Act. This meant a clear disadvantage for Bavarian hospitals and digitally networked healthcare with secure infrastructure. The Bavarian Hospital Association therefore campaigned intensively for reform. We are pleased that our efforts have now fallen on fruitful ground."

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