Healthcare

Confidential patient data deserves uncompromising protection

In the healthcare sector, the protection of sensitive information is particularly important. Patient data is not just personal data – it concerns the most intimate areas of human life. Diagnoses, laboratory results, therapies, genetic information and insurance data must therefore be treated with absolute confidentiality. Any breach of data protection can not only have legal consequences, but above all destroy the trust between patient and institution – and this trust is the basis of successful medical care.

Data destruction in the healthcare sector therefore means much more than simply complying with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA or other national data protection laws. It is part of the medical duty of care and the corporate responsibility of clinics, practices and research institutions. At a time when medical data is increasingly being digitised and processed in a networked manner, security must not end with storage. The end of the information lifecycle must also be handled with the utmost care. With intimus, you not only get robust data destruction technologies, but also a reliable partner who understands that data protection in the healthcare sector is not an optional extra – but an indispensable part of a daily responsibility towards patients and partners.

In an industry where huge amounts of highly sensitive information are processed, stored and archived every day, a reliable concept for secure, complete and verifiable destruction is essential. Our certified high-security systems – from document and hard drive shredders to degaussers, disintegrators and granulators – enable the irreversible destruction of all confidential information, regardless of the medium. Whether paper files, X-ray images, CDs, hard drives or modern storage media: with intimus, all sensitive data can be destroyed securely, traceably and in compliance with the law.
 

Areas of application in the healthcare sector:

  • Hospitals and university clinics
  • Doctor's surgeries and medical care centres
  • Laboratories and diagnostic facilities
  • Nursing homes and retirement homes
  • Health insurance companies and insurance companies
  • Pharmaceutical companies and medical research institutions

International: HIPAA and global standards

Strict rules for the protection of medical data also apply worldwide.

  • In the United States, the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) provides clear guidelines for HIPAA compliance in the healthcare sector – from access controls to secure data destruction.
  • In Canada, the PHIA applies, in Australia the Privacy Act, and in Japan the APPI.

All these standards have a common goal: to protect and securely delete health data, whether in digital form or as paper files.

Healthcare International

Europe and Germany: GDPR, NIS2, BDSG, SGB V, PDSG

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) forms the basis for data protection in hospitals, doctors' surgeries and research institutions. In Germany, the following also apply:

  • BDSG – supplements the GDPR with national regulations
  • SGB V – regulates the handling of insured persons' data in statutory health insurance
  • PDSG – defines the protection of electronic patient records
  • NIS2 Directive – obliges critical institutions such as clinics to ensure higher cyber security

Healthcare institutions must not only process data securely, but also delete patient data and destroy storage media in a legally compliant manner when it is no longer needed.

Healtcare Europe

Professional regulations: Confidentiality in healthcare

In addition to laws, doctors, psychotherapists and other healthcare professionals are subject to statutory confidentiality and professional confidentiality.

  • Patient data may only be disclosed with express consent.
  • This obligation also applies to former employees and beyond death.
  • It covers not only conversations, but also medical documentation, X-ray images and digital data.

Therefore, secure and audit-proof data destruction is an essential part of medical and nursing responsibility.

Professional Regulations

Our products

Which security solutions are suitable for your area of application?

Office shredders

The healthcare sector generates large quantities of confidential documents every day – from patient records and diagnoses to billing documents. Medical practices and smaller facilities should generally shred personal data in accordance with security level P-4 or more sensitive health documents in P-5 in order to reliably comply with legal requirements. Clinics, laboratories or research institutions that work with particularly sensitive information, on the other hand, should also use higher security levels up to P-6. From compact, quiet desktop devices directly at the workplace to powerful departmental devices, intimus offers the right solution for every environment in the healthcare sector. 

Disintegrators

In hospitals, laboratories and research centres, the secure destruction of large quantities of confidential documents is a key task. Disintegrators from intimus enable the complete and irreversible destruction of patient files, X-ray images or research documentation directly on site, eliminating the risk of disclosure to external service providers. The devices shred documents into tiny particles, making reconstruction virtually impossible. Thanks to interchangeable screens, different security levels can be achieved, ranging from P-5 for everyday document protection to P-7 for highly sensitive data or research information. The interchangeable screens allow the security levels to be flexibly adapted to different and even increasing requirements in the healthcare sector, making disintegrators a future-proof solution for permanent use in medical facilities.

Media shredders and granulators

In addition to paper files, digital storage media are a central component of data processing in the healthcare sector. Hard drives in hospital servers, USB sticks containing diagnostic data and memory cards from medical devices contain highly sensitive information that must be reliably deleted. intimus media shredders and granulators offer secure solutions for this purpose. Media shredders quickly shred data carriers into irrecoverable pieces, while granulators process the media into fine, uniform particles and can be flexibly adapted to different security requirements using interchangeable screens. Both systems are robust, suitable for continuous use and also reliably process mixed media. The intimus FlashEx, for example, also enables the destruction of flash media directly in the office and complies with the requirements of the international standards ISO/IEC 21964. For optical and electronic media such as CDs, DVDs, USB sticks or chip cards, security levels from E-3 to E-4 are specified in the healthcare sector, while E-5 is required for particularly sensitive research data. For hard drives and magnetic storage media, H-4 to H-5 is usually the standard in the medical environment.

Degausser and Crusher

For magnetic storage media such as traditional HDD hard drives, the combination of a degausser and a crusher is the most secure form of data destruction. Degaussing uses an extremely strong magnetic field to completely and irreversibly erase all stored information. The crusher then destroys the physical structure of the data carrier by deforming, punching or breaking it. In addition, audit trail systems can be used to automatically log each destruction process. This provides traceable and audit-proof documentation that all data has been destroyed properly – important evidence for compliance and data protection requirements. This two-stage process complies with the most stringent international standards, such as those of the NSA, and guarantees maximum security even for particularly sensitive research data or highly critical patient data. The combination of degausser, crusher and audit trail system is a useful addition for the protection of confidential information, especially in large clinics or research institutions.

Home Office Shredder

Office shredders

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Disintegrators

Disintegrators

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Intimus SSD HDD Granulator

Media shredders and granulators

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Intimus 40000S Auditor Pro

Degausser and Crusher

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Proven security in action

How healthcare providers and organizations around the world rely on our solutions

An established medical practice was looking for a reliable solution to permanently destroy confidential patient records in compliance with data protection regulations. The choice fell on an intimus P-5 document shredder.

They particularly appreciate the fact that the shredder can also process documents with staples and paper clips without any problems – a huge time saver in everyday practice, as documents do not have to be laboriously prepared beforehand. In addition, CDs, DVDs and floppy disks with archived data can also be reliably destroyed, enabling the secure disposal of older digital data carriers.

In addition to its versatility, the practice team highlights its quiet operation, high sheet capacity and exceptional durability: the shredder has been in daily use for many years – without any malfunctions or breakdowns. This proven reliability creates trust and ensures that the practice can maintain its high data protection standards at all times.

Artzpraxis

An international pharmaceutical company and an affiliated medical research facility faced the challenge of permanently and verifiably destroying highly sensitive research and patient data stored on decommissioned hard disks (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs). Given the strictest data protection guidelines and internal compliance requirements, the intimus SSD-HDD Granulator was chosen.

The system shreds both magnetic and electronic data storage media into tiny particles, making recovery of the stored information technically impossible. Thanks to the replaceable screens, security levels up to H-6 for HDDs and E-5 for SSDs can be achieved. This physical destruction process ensures the highest level of data security in accordance with ISO/IEC 21964 (DIN 66399).

Responsible parties praised the stable and robust technology, which offers maximum security and efficiency even with large data volumes in continuous operation.

Forschung

A large hospital regularly accumulated a large number of digital data carriers containing sensitive patient data – including not only USB sticks, but also tablets, SD cards, microdrives, flash modules and other solid-state media. To eliminate the risk of data loss during transport by third-party providers, the hospital decided to use the intimus FlashEx.

This device allows all common flash memory devices to be quickly, securely and irreversibly destroyed on site. A key advantage is that the intimus FlashEx only requires a standard power outlet and can therefore be used flexibly in various areas of the hospital – from the IT department to sensitive archive areas.

In addition to the high level of data security, those responsible emphasised the versatility of the device and its easy integration into everyday hospital life. By eliminating the need for external transport, not only is security enhanced, but time and costs are also saved.

Klinik

Meeting the special security requirements in healthcare

Your benefits with intimus.

  • Law-compliant destruction of sensitive health data

intimus products meet the most stringent data protection and security requirements in the healthcare sector, including GDPR, DIN 66399, ISO/IEC 21964 and international standards. This ensures that patient records, research data and other confidential information are destroyed reliably and in compliance with the law.

  • Wide range of products for all data carriers

From compact workplace solutions for shredding paper, patient files, chip cards or CDs to high-performance systems for HDDs, SSDs or large quantities of paper – intimus offers the right solution for every facility with maximum security.

  • Flexible security levels according to security requirements

intimus disintegrators and granulators can be individually adapted to the respective security requirements by replacing the screens. This allows security levels of up to P-7 for paper, H-6 for hard drives and E-5 for SSDs or USB sticks to be achieved – ideal for clinics, laboratories and research institutions.

  • Effective digital data deletion 

Degaussers from intimus permanently delete data on hard drives. Subsequent physical destruction with a crusher ensures maximum security and meets even the most stringent standards in the research sector.

  • Audit-proof documentation of all destruction processes

All legal and internal control requirements are met: serial numbers of hard drives and SSDs are digitally recorded before the destruction process and can be documented in a report. This ensures transparent and auditable data destruction.

  • Reliability and performance

intimus devices are designed for continuous use in demanding healthcare environments – from busy clinics and laboratories to doctors' surgeries. Thanks to their robust design and maintenance-friendly construction, they deliver consistent performance even under heavy data load and minimise downtime. Their intuitive operation enables quick and secure integration into existing workflows – even without specialised personnel.

  • Robust systems for everyday healthcare

intimus offers healthcare facilities a comprehensive service that goes above and beyond the standard: from individual consultation and regular maintenance to fast spare parts supply. This ensures maximum availability, operational reliability and data protection.

Why intimus?

007

High security expert since 1975

intimus developed the world's first high security shredder

Certified Security

Certified security

Destruction in accordance with international security standards – GDPR & HIPAA compliant

Passion

Customised solutions

Tailor-made solutions: From individual devices to complete security concepts.

Ready for maximum data security?

Secure your confidential information - permanently and reliably.

Our experts will advise you individually and work with you to develop the optimal destruction strategy.

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