HIO issues guidelines for privacy protection in pharmacies under GeSY

Following an announcement by the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, the Health Insurance Organization (HIO) has issued guidelines for beneficiaries regarding the collection of identification data at pharmacies under the General Healthcare System (GeSY). The HIO emphasizes that personal data collection must be conducted discreetly to ensure patient privacy. Beneficiaries are advised to avoid speaking personal details such as ID numbers or dates of birth aloud within hearing distance of others. The HIO recommends providing only necessary information, writing details on paper or mobile devices rather than verbalizing them, and utilizing the prescription barcode available through the GeSY beneficiary portal. If paper is used to note information, it should be destroyed or reclaimed by the patient after use. Beneficiaries who witness violations of these privacy standards by pharmacists are encouraged to report incidents to the GeSY service center by calling 17000.