Data protection

You may be wondering: are all my measurement data safe with viQtor? We can be brief about that: yes. Your data is well protected according to GDPR legislation. They are transmitted over a secure network. Only selected healthcare professionals and informal carers receive a login code to view your data.

We comply with the GDPR

Since 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been applicable. This privacy legislation applies to the entire European Union (EU). Every healthcare provider – from general practitioner and (home) care organization to hospital – is bound by these regulations. smartQare has also made clear agreements about this, so that we comply with the GDPR at all times.

Pseudonymized data on the hard drive

viQtor has no ON/OFF button. viQtor starts measuring as soon as the device is worn in the bracelet and stops measuring as soon as the bracelet is removed and the device no longer makes contact with the skin. The measurement data is first stored on the hard disk of the device itself. There are no personal data of the carrier on this hard drive, so they cannot be traced back to the person using viQtor. Every 5 minutes the measured data is sent to the smartQare platform and then deleted from the hard disk of the device. If there is no connection to the platform and therefore no transmission takes place, the data will be stored on the hard disk for a maximum of 24 hours.

Transmission via secure connection

The measured data is sent from the device to the platform. This is done via a secure direct-to-cloud connection. During the transmission there is no connection with the personal data of the patient. The patient data is stored in a database on the smartQare platform. Personal data of the patient are stored in a separate database. smartQare protects this platform according to ISO 27001 guidelines.

Use of data by healthcare professionals

From the smartQare platform, measurement data is sent to a dashboard and mobile apps for use by healthcare professionals. This dashboard can be either the dashboard, or a dashboard of the healthcare provider. Transmission takes place with TLS security.
In the mobile apps and in the dashboard, patient data is only accessible to selected healthcare professionals and informal caregivers. They receive login details for this. The healthcare provider determines who has access to the patient data.

Link to EHR

Healthcare providers have their own electronic health record (EHR). To increase the ease of use, it is desirable that the measured data from viQtor are available in this EHR. The smartQare platform can therefore be interfaced to these systems. The agreements on limited access of patient data to the professionals selected (by the healthcare provider) will also be maintained in case of such interfacing.
smartQare makes agreements with the healthcare provider in a service level agreement (SLA) about the retention periods of patient data, within the legal frameworks for retention periods.

Research

smartQare uses the database with measurement data itself for scientific research and further development of algorithms. There are no personal data in this database: all data are pseudonymized.