Cabinet approves 'right to opt out' measures for personal health data

Taipei, May 15 (CNA) Taiwan's Executive Yuan on Thursday approved a draft bill that would allow individuals to opt out from having their National Health Insurance (NHI) records used for nonmedical purposes.

At a Cabinet press briefing, senior health official Chen Chen-hui (陳真慧) said individuals would be able to request the full or partial cessation of the use of their NHI records for policy-making or academic research purposes.

Currently, NHI's database, which includes insurance and medical records of some 99.9 percent of the insured Taiwanese nationals, can be accessed by government agencies or research institutions, although the data must be anonymized.

According to Chen, those seeking to exercise the right to opt out must submit an application to the National Health Insurance Administration under the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), which will disclose what NHI records are being used.

However, there will be exceptions in which the administration may deny such an application, MOHW Deputy Minister Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said, citing as an example the use of data in the government's pandemic prevention and response efforts.

Under the draft bill, applications and previously approved opt-out requests can be ignored for national security reasons, when there is an imminent danger to life or property, or if the government receives an official request to provide a person's NHI records.

The draft bill, pending legislative approval, was put forth in response to a ruling rendered by the Constitutional Court in August 2022 that mandated the creation of a mechanism within three years to give the NHI-insured greater control over the use of their data.

Under the proposed bill, an advisory group consisting of experts and relevant stakeholders would also be established to oversee government and academic access to NHI data.