Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Health Sciences

.: REVIEW
Growing Concern During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Data Privacy
COVID-19 Salgını ile Birlikte Artan Endişe: Veri Gizliliği
Fedayi YAĞARa
aKahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Health Care Management, Kahramanmaraş, TURKEY
Turkiye Klinikleri J Health Sci. 2021;6(2):387-92
doi: 10.5336/healthsci.2020-76485
Article Language: EN
Full Text
ABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to examine data privacy which has become a subject of debate with the COVID-19 pandemic. While evaluating data privacy, it is considered that there is a balance between data privacy and public health in a pandemic crisis, where latter outweighs the former. Therefore, mostly the period following the pandemic was focused and which significant issues to be taken into consideration in terms of eliminating the possible negative impacts of data policies implemented today were discussed in the study. Firstly, mobile applications (such as TraceTogether and PEPP-PT) or technological infrastructures developed to track patients and provide their filings in South Korea, Taiwan, China, Europe and Singapore were explained. Increased concerns about data privacy have been expressed with such approaches. Four main matters were determined to be considered with regard to the technological applications being used as a part of COVID19 response efforts. These are: 1) Complying with regulations and international health guidelines, 2) Having transparent data collection and processing conditions, 3) Using anonymized mobile geodata, and 4) Conducting data quality and security controls. It is believed that paying attention to these matters will be beneficial after the pandemic or while developing new applications. In addition, together with the consideration of these issues and preparation of the necessary infrastructure, it has been seen that telemedicine applications can be an important power in the fight against COVID-19. It is emphasized that it can make an important contribution in controlling outbreaks and preventing unnecessary use of health services.

Keywords: COVID-19; data privacy; mobile applications; telemedicine
ÖZET
Bu çalışmada, COVID-19 ile birlikte tartışma konusu hâline gelen veri gizliliği konusu incelenmiştir. Veri gizliliği ile ilgili değerlendirmeler yapılırken, bir pandemi krizinde veri gizliliği ve halk sağlığı arasında bir denge olduğu, bu dengede halk sağlığı kısmının ağır bastığı yaklaşımı dikkate alınmıştır. Bu sebeple yapılan bu çalışmada, daha çok salgın sonrası süreç düşünülmüş, günümüzde uygulanan bu veri politikaları ile birlikte oluşabilecek olumsuz etkileri azaltmak için hangi önemli noktaların dikkate alınması gerektiği değerlendirilmiştir. İlk olarak Güney Kore, Tayvan, Çin, Avrupa ve Singapur'da hastaları takip etmek ve filyasyonu sağlamak için geliştirilen mobil uygulamalar (TraceTogether ve PEPP-PT gibi) veya oluşturulan teknolojik altyapılar açıklanmıştır. Bu gibi yaklaşımlar ile birlikte veri gizliliği konusunda artan endişeler ifade edilmiştir. COVID-19 ile mücadelede kullanılan teknolojik uygulamalarda 4 temel hususa dikkat edilmesi gerektiği belirlenmiştir. Bunlar: 1) Düzenleyici uygulamalara ve uluslararası sağlık yönergelerine uyulması, 2) Veri toplama ve işleme koşulları açık olması, 3) Anonimleştirilmiş mobil konumlandırma verilerinin kullanılması, 4) Veri kalitesi ve güvenlik kontrollerinin yapılmasıdır. Salgın sonrası süreçte veya geliştirilecek yeni uygulamalarda bu hususların dikkate alınmasının fayda sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir. Ayrıca bu hususların dikkate alınması ve gerekli altyapının hazırlanması ile birlikte, teletıp uygulamalarının COVID-19 ile mücadelede önemli bir güç olabileceği görülmüştür. Salgınların kontrol edilmesi ve gereksiz sağlık hizmetleri kullanımının engellenmesi noktasında önemli bir katkı sağlayabileceğine vurgu yapılmıştır

Anahtar Kelimeler: COVID-19; veri gizliliği; mobil uygulamalar; teletıp
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30.03.2014

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