By ecancer reporter Jennifer Scott

Many recent, life saving breakthroughs in cancer research would not have been possible without using patient data, all of which hinges on patient consent.

However, studies suggest many patients are actually unaware of the ways their medical records may be used for research and the safeguards in place to protect their data.

Patients are more likely to be comfortable with sharing their details for medical research if they have already been educated about research processes and data protection.

In response to the need for improved communication with patients, ecancer and the Institute for Legal Informatics in Hannover have created four educational videos on medical data protection: an Introduction to medical data protection, Privacy and Data Protection within European law, Your rights as a patient and Consent as the basis for using patient data.

The videos were produced as part of the EURECA project, a European project with the goal of connecting health information systems in clinical care and clinical research.

Featuring Professor Nikolaus Forgó, a respected IT lawyer with expertise in data protection and privacy law, these short films examine topics ranging from the concept of informed consent through to how sensitive information is legally protected within European law.

They offer comprehensive, professional material aimed at empowering patients.

Existing resources for patients covering this topic in detail are severely limited, making these videos a unique asset for improving public understanding of the use of personal data in research.

To make the information accessible for patients, the videos have also been turned into four e-learning modules on ecancerpatient.org, the sister website to ecancer.org.

The topics are an Introduction to medical data protection, Privacy and Data Protection within European law, Your rights as a patient and Consent as the basis for using patient data.

To ensure the modules are understandable for patients they are divided into concise sections, have explanations of key terms and only take around five minutes to complete.

Patients can print out the topic summaries to serve as a helpful reminder when discussing consent with their doctor.

It is essential that the public understand how their medical data is used and how European law protects their rights.

Doing so will achieve meaningful consent and make people feel their sensitive data is secure.

ecancer provides these free informative videos to facilitate effective communication on this important topic between doctors and patients throughout the entire oncology community.