Pseudonymisation in the context of GDPR-compliant medical research

Pseudonymisation is an important tool for protecting the privacy of individuals in medical research. It helps to ensure that personal information is not directly identifiable, while still allowing the data to be used for research purposes and for providing technical and healthcare support where needed at the same time. The SMART BEAR approach is in line with the principles of the GDPR, which requires that personal data be processed in a way that ensures appropriate security and privacy controls are in place. SMART BEAR services and organisational processes are stacked in such a way as to minimise the risk of leakage, to ensure that the data collected and processed are used only for the purpose they were intended, and that the data subjects' privacy is fully respected. One lesson from this approach is that organisations that use pseudonymisation may need to update certain procedures, to ensure the effective and secure use of pseudonymised data, and to update policies related to data access and sharing, to ensure that data are not shared with unauthorised parties.