Brainlab, a global leader in medical technology, today announced that it has received the EuroPriSe European Data Privacy Seal for Quentry® by Brainlab. The seal certifies that Quentry is compliant with data protection directives implemented by all European states.
Quentry enables medical professionals to share images, display the images in a web-based viewer and add comments such as medical opinions. Quentry supports clinicians throughout the referral, review, planning and treatment workflow, supporting patient data management and collaboration. Quentry is the first cloud-based medical service to receive certification from EuroPriSe.
Addressing regulations on privacy and data security for all European states, EuroPriSe certification required a rigorous, two-year evaluation process. Quentry underwent this robust audit, which improved upon and validated the platform’s technical and organizational measures and multilayered encryption technology embedded in the architecture.
Quentry employs advanced encryption and access control technologies that approximate the level of a true end-to-end encryption to the greatest extent possible. This safeguards that all sensitive medical information is protected. Data uploaded and stored on Quentry can only be accessed and viewed by authorized individuals.
"With an increasing number of worldwide data security breaches, protecting patient and user data is vital to any cloud-based medical platform," said Rainer Birkenbach, Executive Vice President. "Brainlab developers built a multi-layered encryption system, which protects all patient data against unjustified inspection - even service providers and administrators are not able to individually decrypt data. Our goal was to go above and beyond the most stringent requirements for high-level data protection that customers and government regulators demand with Quentry. We’re pleased to see our efforts rewarded by EuroPriSe."
The responsibility for the lawful processing of patient data lies with the users of the service. They are advised by Brainlab that the legitimate use of Quentry requires the collection of patients' informed consent and release from medical confidentiality and that they are obliged to verify the identity of other users in a reliable way prior to sharing medical information with them.
"Brainlab expended a great deal of effort in order to ensure the confidentiality of sensitive data," says Sebastian Meissner, Head of the EuroPriSe Certification Authority. Meissner said positive aspects of Quentry include, "comprehensive privacy hints provided to users and the ability to de-identify meta data about patients."
The EuroPriSe seal is valid for two years, and will continuously be re-evaluated when new features and functionalities are added to Quentry.
About Brainlab
Brainlab, headquartered in Munich, develops, manufactures and markets software-driven medical technology, enabling access to advanced, less invasive patient treatments.
Core products center on information-guided surgery, radiosurgery, precision radiation therapy, digital operating room integration, and information and knowledge exchange. Brainlab technology powers treatments in radiosurgery and radiotherapy as well as numerous surgical fields including neurosurgery, orthopedic, ENT, CMF, spine and trauma.
Privately held since its formation in Munich, Germany in 1989, Brainlab has more than 9,000 systems installed in about 100 countries. Brainlab employs 1,300 people in 18 offices worldwide, including 320 Research & Development engineers, who form a crucial part of the product development team.
About EuroPriSe
EuroPriSe started as an EU-funded project aimed at establishing a trans-European privacy seal. Today, EuroPriSe offers certifications for IT products, IT-based services and websites throughout the EU. A unique certification, the EuroPriSe seal assures users that their personal data are handled in accordance with European data protection laws. As the only EU-wide, independent privacy seal, EuroPriSe enables enterprises to demonstrate their compliance with European laws and regulations. EuroPriSe certifications have been awarded to businesses of all sizes, including small and medium-sized companies as well as multinational organizations such as Microsoft and SAP.