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The Accountability Principle and Its Implications
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Political Science

Data Protection and Ethical Issues in European P5 eHealth

Profile image of Virginia SanchiniVirginia Sanchini

2019, P5 eHealth: An Agenda for the Health Technologies of the Future

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27994-3_10
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Abstract

In spite of its promise to significantly ameliorate health and care practices, the momentous rise of eHealth technologies-an umbrella term that refers to a varied set of tools and resources such as health information networks, electronic health records, telemedicine and monitoring services, wearable systems, as well as online health self-management tools-has been fraught with significant ethical and societal concerns. Thriving out of the extensive use of (sensitive) personal data (i.e., Big Data approach), while also representing a major driver for reconfiguring entrenched social practices and relations within health and care systems, eHealth has been the focus, in recent years, of increased ethical, legal, and sociological scrutiny. Aimed at providing an overview of the data protection regime and the main ethical issues associated with the emergence and progressive stabilization of eHealth within the context of the European Union (EU), this chapter is structured as follows. First, innovation in eHealth as a core policy objective of the EU is presented; then, regulatory issues related to eHealth research and innovation are discussed; notably, our attention will be devoted to the discussion of eHealth technologies in light of the The Authors Virginia Sanchini and Luca Marelli have contributed equally to this work.

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