Patients’ digital info is secured – health minister

Last Updated on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, 21:39 by Writer

Health minister Dr Frank Anthony on Tuesday sought to assure Guyanese that their health information that is being collected and stored digitally is secure, although the 2023 Data Protection Act is yet to come into force.

“We have systems in place, we have protocols in place. We’ve done a number of regulations in collaboration with this team from Mount Sinai so health data, we follow these protocols. This is not divulged to the general public  and we don’t want it to be because that’s how we will build trust with our patients,” Dr Anthony told reporters after the formal launch of the Guyana Digital Health Training Institute (GDHTI).

He said as the Institute’s training emerges and data are collected, the commencement order would be “in place”. “We were one of the ministries that advocated for it (Data Protection Act) and it was passed by parliament,” he said.

The health minister said, “I’m sure it will be done shortly” when pressed on the point that the commencement order for the Data Protection Act has not been issued.

The opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) as late as last week raised fresh concerns about the fact that the data protection law had not been activated.

Earlier this year, the United Kingdom-headquartered RioMed Limited inked a US$3.3 million agreement to establish an electronic health records system that would be accessible across all public healthcare providers to allow doctors to treat patients efficiently.

At that time, the health minister had said that that individuals could be fined up to GY$20 million and corporate entities GY$100 million for accessing private patient information.