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NTA 7516 is a data protection standard introduced in May 2019 as a way of protecting all forms of healthcare data in the Netherlands. The legislation impacts any organization which handles personal healthcare data, including healthcare providers, insurers, municipalities, occupational health services - the list goes on.
NTA 7516 clarifies what is necessary with regard to the mailing of personal health information to ensure that a number of GDPR requirements are met. The standard ensures that sensitive data is handled securely by prescribing that organizations must work with a communication service provider who is NTA 7516 certified.
If you handle personal health information by email, you must use an NTA 7516 certified email product to ensure compliance. So, not only healthcare organizations (such as general practitioners, hospitals, surgeries etc) but educational establishments, municipalities, and financial services providers are impacted by NTA 7516, too.
As with all data protection standards, there are three primary elements of the NTA 7516: integrity, availability, and confidentiality.
In addition to these three pillars, NTA 7516 also places great emphasis on the ease of use of communications software. NTA 7516 certified platforms must provide a user-friendly experience for both the sender and recipient of sensitive healthcare data.
It must be clear to the recipient that the software used to share data is NTA 7516 compliant; they must also be able to securely engage with the communication (i.e. save the information in their preferred location, reply to or forward the information on), without having to create an account with the platform.
Certificated NTA 7516 providers must be interoperable. This means that the receiving party is unaffected if the sending party has made a different choice. For example, just like you don't know whether a caller’s provider is KPN, T-mobile, or Vodafone, an organization’s preferred communications provider will function seamlessly with an alternative provider.
Are you NTA 7516 compliant?
Zivver was a driving force behind NTA 7516 and is an approved provider; Zivver users can operate with confidence knowing their digital communications are protected, and compliance with evolving data protection laws is assured.
To learn more about compliance and the NTA 7516, as well as how we can support your organization in meeting legislative requirements, download our NTA 7516 checklist.
By Rick Goud, CIO & Founder, Zivver
Ready for a deeper dive? So are we.