Recital 10

It should be considered that immediate access of natural persons to certain categories of their personal electronic health data could be harmful for the safety of those natural persons or unethical. For example, it could be unethical to inform a patient through an electronic channel about a diagnosis of an incurable disease that is likely to be terminal instead of first providing that information in a consultation with the patient. Therefore, it should be possible to delay the provision of the access to personal electronic health data in such situations for a limited amount of time, for instance until the moment when the health professional can explain the situation to the patient. Member States should be able to establish such an exception where it constitutes a necessary and proportionate measure in a democratic society, in line with restrictions as provided for in Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.