Journal of Korean Dental Association

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
J Korean Dent Assoc. 2024;62(2):76-93. Published online February 29, 2024.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22974/jkda.2024.62.2.001
개인정보 보호를 고려한 치과 진료기록의 활용 범위
양소연 
헌법재판소
Processing Health Information in Dental Records in the Context of Patient Data Privacy
Soyun Yang 
Constitutional Court of Korea
Corresponding author: Soyun Yang  Tel: 02-708-3607,  Fax: 02-708-3384,  Email: gsyang@ccourt.go.kr
Received: October 6, 2023; Revised: October 12, 2023   Accepted: December 27, 2023.
Abstract
This article aims to discuss the legal limitations in processing personally identifiable health information contained in dental records. Dental records usually contain images such as panoramic radiographs, from which the patient’s anatomical information on the oral and maxillofacial region can be recognized. Recent development in data processing technology sug-gests the possibility of enhanced chances of human identification from this information. To illustrate current privacy regulations related to the processing of information in dental records, relevant clauses in current laws including the Personal Information Protection Act and the Medical Service Act, as well as administrative guidelines and court cases were collected and analyzed. When using dental records as evidence in trial or alternative dispute resolution, the information should be within the scope of the disputed issues and the person submitting the records must have a legitimate ground to retain the record. When processing personally identifiable information from dental records for research purposes, adequate pseudonymization is required. Considering the possible expansion of the scope of personally identifiable information and the limitations in conducting research with highly pseudonymized images, it is necessary to raise awareness within the dental society of the current pri-vacy regulations, while also relaxing regulations in accordance with technological developments.

Keywords :Patient Data Privacy; Protected Health Information; Personally Identifiable Information; Personal Medical Records; Dental Records

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