South AfricaNational Health Act, confidentiality and protection of health records
In force since .
A sensitive categories rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition, Consent, Security
- Audit expectation
- none
What it requires
- Treat all information about a user of health services, including health status, treatment and stay in a health establishment, as confidential, and disclose it only with the user's written consent, where a court order or law requires it, or where non-disclosure is a serious threat to public health.
- If you are in charge of a health establishment that holds users' health records, set up control measures that prevent unauthorised access to the records and to the storage facility or system in which they are kept.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What it makes you log
Logging duty
Sections 14 to 17 make user information confidential and require access controls on health records. Read through, they ask for no access log or disclosure register and give no body a power to demand one.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Section 14 of the National Health Act 61 of 2003 makes all information concerning a user of health services, including information about health status, treatment or stay in a health establishment, confidential, and bars any person from disclosing it unless the user consents in writing, a court order or a law requires disclosure, or non-disclosure would seriously threaten public health.
Section 15 lets a health worker or health care provider with access to a user's health records disclose personal information to others as necessary for a legitimate purpose within the ordinary course of duties where that is in the user's interests.
Section 17(1) requires the person in charge of a health establishment that holds a user's health records to set up control measures that prevent unauthorised access to the records and to the storage facility or system in which they are kept, and section 17(2) makes falsifying, copying, linking or gaining unauthorised access to a record an offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to one year.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app handles health records or processes personal data.
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