The General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into force on 25 May 2018, is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union. It also covers the export of personal data outside the EU. But what does this mean for pharmacy professionals?
As a pharmacy professional, you should already be meeting our standards for pharmacy professionals, which require you to respect and maintain a person’s confidentiality and privacy.
We’re including new information about the GDPR in updated versions of our guidance on consent and confidentiality. The updated versions will be available from the front page of our website and our GPhC Standards app in the next few weeks.
And our standards for registered pharmacies require pharmacy owners to provide premises that protect the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients and the public who receive pharmacy services.
We’ve covered examples of good practice in respecting a person’s privacy and confidentiality and managing a person’s information in our previous Regulate article, Focus on privacy and confidentiality in pharmacy
Find out more
Here are some specific resources about meeting GDPR requirements:
- the Information Commissioner’s Office have produced guidance on the GDPR
- a cross-sector Community Pharmacy GDPR Working Party including the NPA, PSNC and RPS have put together a set of resources to help community pharmacies meet the GDPR requirements, including staff training materials, FAQs, and a guide to the GDPR for community pharmacy
- Community pharmacy Scotland have produced a PDF guide and workbook on GDPR compliance
see the NHS Digital website to find out about GDPR and information governance for the Summary Care Records (SCR)