Secure and trusted

Statement

People and organisations can trust that health data shared across borders is protected, used only for agreed purposes, and handled under explicit agreements.

Rationale

Cross-border exchange involves several legal jurisdictions with different data protection rules. Without explicit trust, organisations will not share data and people will not accept it.

Implications

• Privacy and security are built in by design and by default.
• Only the data needed for the stated purpose is exchanged; there is no bulk exchange.
• Authentication (Who are you?) and authorisation (What can you see?) are completed before any data retrieval request is processed.
• Access decisions consider the purpose of use (e.g. emergency vs. routine), the healthcare provider, the facility and the patient's consent status.
• All access is logged for audit, and people can see who accessed their data.
• Participants operate under a shared trust framework that sets out roles, responsibilities and legal agreements, including controller and processor roles across jurisdictions.
• Each exchange complies with the data protection law of every jurisdiction involved.

References: Sigra 2025; EU 2016; EU 2025; VWS 2025; Nictiz & The Open Group 2023.