To protect personal data rights, people can now apply to stop their National Health Insurance (NHI) information from being used for academic and research purposes, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) said today.
The Constitutional Court on Aug. 12, 2022, issued Interpretation No. 13, which states that the use of NHI data by government agencies or academic institutions for academic or research purposes is constitutional.
However, the judgement said that current law lacks sufficient oversight of personal data use and does not allow people to request that their data is not used, which is unconstitutional.
Photo: Taipei Times
The court ruled the law must be amended within three years.
The Executive Yuan approved a draft law to manage NHI data in May, which includes regulations allowing people to opt out of having their data used.
However, as the Legislative Yuan has yet to complete its review of the draft law and the court’s deadline has arrived, the NHIA released guidelines explaining how people can stop their data from being used for research purposes.
This would ensure people’s rights are protected while the law is still being amended, the NHIA said.
NHIA official Yu Hui-chen (游慧真) said today that starting immediately, people can apply at any regional NHIA office or through the NHI app to opt out of having their data used for academic research.
The NHIA would complete the approval process within 30 days of receiving the application, Yu said.
Currently institutions that can apply to use NHI data include government agencies, administrative corporations, medical institutions, academic research institutions, universities and others commissioned by the government, Yu said.
Institutions have used NHI data for academic and medical research, as well as public health and policy evaluations, she said.
The data have been used in more than 9,000 articles published in domestic and international journals, and have helped many graduate students obtain degrees, she added.
Yu said that to protect data security and personal privacy, NHI data is only provided to support academic research and public welfare.
It must be approved by institutional review boards and relevant authorities, and can only be accessed in specified locations, Yu said.
Personal information is deidentified, data about rare cases is not available and only statistical results may be taken out, she added.
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