GPhC planning to consult on data protection policy

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is planning to consult on updating its data protection policy in light of a new European Union (EU) regulation which comes into force next month.

The General Data Protection Regulation — which has been described as the most important change in data protection for 20 years — will provide greater data protection rights for all EU citizens when it is introduced on 25 May 2018.

Changes include individuals having the right to seek confirmation that data are being processed about them, and being told where and for what purpose data are held. Companies and organisations will have to provide individuals with a copy of the data on request for free, within a month of the request being made.

The principles behind the “right to be forgotten” — where individuals can ask for data about them to be erased — are also clearly defined in the new regulation.

The regulation stipulates the balance that needs to be achieved between the rights of the individual against the rights of the organisation.

The decision to consult on a new data protection policy is due to be approved by the GPhC at its council meeting on 12 April 2018.