Data protection and security
Data security: clear rules on who sees which information.
A care need can contain sensitive information. That is why we distinguish between details for the referral, internal details and information that is only needed later in the agreement process. This page describes who sees which details.
The path of the data in five stages
1. When posting
Whoever posts the care need describes: one to three types of care, postcode and town (no street), start, services with times, care level (Pflegegrad), age group, gender (voluntary), diagnoses, the care situation, the type of payer, a short description and notes; organisations also give a work contact (role, ward, shared mailbox). The name, address and date of birth of the person concerned are not recorded. The platform checks free texts for personal data, even if they are written in a disguised way; in free texts we expressly ask for no names and no diagnoses. When posting, it is confirmed that consent has been given. Private individuals give it directly on the platform. A copy of the consent is not uploaded.
2. With the notification
Matching care providers receive an email with the case number, type of care, service categories, postcode and town, start and a link to the portal – nothing more. In addition, a summary at 10 am and 1 pm brings new care needs together. Diagnoses, free texts, messages, names, addresses and contact details never appear in an email. You can unsubscribe from the notification.
3. On the platform
Signed-in care providers whose location profile matches the care need see the details for the referral, including the approximate distance, the diagnoses, the short description, the notes and – for organisations – the work contact. Locations without a location subscription see a preview without an identifiable referring organisation. The responsible person, details of the consent and team notes are only seen by the referring organisation’s own team. If the referring organisation belongs to an umbrella organisation, the umbrella organisation can only read along with separate consent for ‘key figures’ and for ‘case contents’; each consent can be withdrawn, the umbrella organisation only reads, every access is logged, and it never makes changes.
4. When care is agreed
The telephone number and email address of private individuals are only released after a home care service or care provider has been selected – and only to that provider. Name and address are exchanged directly between those involved, not through the portal. Each request has one conversation: text only, at most 2,000 characters per message. No care provider sees the offers of other care providers.
5. On completion or withdrawal
Case data is not stored indefinitely. Each type of data has its own retention period; some data, such as invoices, is subject to statutory retention obligations. The details are set out in the privacy policy.
What a care provider sees before selection
Every matching care provider in the service area receives this view: details for the referral, no names, no address, no contact details of private individuals. The screenshot shows the German user interface.
Who is responsible?
If an organisation – such as a hospital, a practice or a home care service – posts a care need, it remains responsible for this case data. Pflege Patienten processes it on the organisation’s behalf on the basis of a data processing agreement.
PHP Schmiede KG as the operator is itself responsible for private individuals, for the user accounts and for billing.
What this website does not do
Questions and rights
You have the right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability and objection, as well as the right to withdraw any consent you have given. To do so, write to us at info@pflege-patienten.com or use the contact form with the enquiry ‘Data protection request’.
There is no self-service access report in the portal: you receive access to your data under Art. 15 GDPR on request from the operator, within the statutory deadlines – informally by email or using the contact form. Organisations can additionally download their organisation data in the portal under ‘Settings’ → ‘Data export’.
Read more: Your rights to your data · Privacy policy · Data processing agreement · Contact
Technical security
Sign-in is protected by a second factor (app code via TOTP with recovery codes): mandatory for hospitals; other organisations can make it mandatory for their team, and private individuals can use it voluntarily. We check the software’s dependencies automatically every week for known security vulnerabilities, and operations are monitored continuously.
There is no certification. Documents for your IT department are available on request.
This page explains the data processing in plain language. The privacy policy and the data processing agreement are authoritative; their German versions are legally binding.
Questions about data security?
Your IT or data protection officer has questions? Write to us – please without patient details.