Data Protection and Ethical Issues in European P5 eHealth

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 soci- etal 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