Navigating Legal and Ethical Boundaries: Safeguarding Personal Health Data in International Research Collaboration

This study delves into the four characteristics of data accessibility across seven APEC countries, identifying key regulatory disparities in utilizing health-related data for medical research, including the potential reuse of health-related data, inconsistencies in anonymization or de-identification standards, and varied legal protection requirements based on the data’s origin. To foster cross-jurisdictional sharing of personal health data and fortify privacy security in China, this paper proposes the following strategies: implementing specialized legislation concerning health-related data, developing a Chinese version of the De-Identification Decision-Making Framework, leveraging advanced cryptographic privacy-preserving techniques in biomedical research, and employing data transfer and usage agreements.