Research participants must identify which data sets constitute personal data to ensure compliance with the GDPR.

By Frances Stocks Allen and Mihail Krepchev

The UK Medical Research Council (MRC) has published a useful guidance note on the identifiability, anonymisation, and pseudonymisation of personal data in the context of research activities (the Guidance). The Guidance reminds research organisations that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to health data used in research and contains a number of recommendations that participants in the research process, particularly clinical trial sponsors, should bear in mind. The Guidance has been developed with the participation of the UK privacy regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).