Healthcare
Pharmacy data backup for prescriptions, records and daily work
Mindtime backs up the servers, scanned prescription archive, mail and counter workstations around your pharmacy information system to its own data centres in the Netherlands and Germany, as immutable copies with an air-gapped copy alongside.
In Dutch, German or English.
- NL · DEStored only in our own Tier III data centres in the Netherlands and Germany
- ImmutableObject Lock storage plus an air-gapped copy; every backup job is checked
- ISO 27001 · NEN 7510Audited security, with a data processing agreement in every contract
- NL · DE · ENSupport from people, no offshore call centres or chatbots
In short
Pharmacies need dependable backups because prescriptions and patient records must be kept for 20 years and stay readable and searchable for that whole period. Mindtime backs up servers, scanned archives, Microsoft 365 and workstations to its own NEN 7510-audited data centres in the Netherlands and Germany, with immutable copies and checked backup jobs.
What's at stake
The data pharmacies can't afford to lose
Prescriptions and related documents
Every prescription, including those under the Opium Act, is part of the medical record and must be kept for 20 years. Once paper originals are scanned and destroyed, the digital archive is the only copy.
The pharmacy patient file
Dispensing history, medication checks and agreements with the patient make up the pharmacist's own patient file under the WGBO. It is what the next dispensing decision relies on.
Counter, ordering and back-office data
Counter workstations, stock orders, staff schedules and correspondence with GPs keep the pharmacy open. If they fail, patients wait at the counter for medication they need today.
Rules and obligations
What the rules ask of pharmacies
Summarised from the sources listed at the bottom of this page. This is general information, not legal advice.
The WGBO applies to community pharmacists
The KNMP states that the WGBO also applies to community pharmacists. The patient file is kept for 20 years, counted from the last change to the file. [1]
Prescriptions: 20 years
Under Article 5.1 of the Regeling Geneesmiddelenwet, prescriptions are part of the medical record and are kept for 20 years; the same term applies to Opium Act prescriptions, according to the KNMP. [2]
A digital archive must stay searchable
Prescriptions and related documents must be kept for 20 years whether on paper or digital. A digital archive must remain retrievable through a search function for that whole period, and the pharmacist checks that scanning was correct and complete. [3]
NEN 7510 for pharmacy IT
The Wabvpz requires care providers, pharmacies included, to set up information security according to NEN 7510, under IGJ supervision. [4]
Pharmacies are healthcare providers
In EU law, healthcare includes the prescription, dispensation and provision of medicinal products, and pharmacists are health professionals. Healthcare providers are a NIS2 sector, so whether the Cyberbeveiligingswet applies to a pharmacy depends on its size. [5]
When it goes wrong
The scanned prescription archive fails
Illustrative example: a community pharmacy scans its paper prescriptions and destroys the originals, keeping the scans on a NAS in the back office. During a hot summer weekend the NAS fails and two disks are lost. Because Mindtime backed up the NAS to its Dutch data centre, the archive is restored to new storage and is searchable again. Without that copy, years of prescriptions that must be kept for two decades would have been gone.
How Mindtime protects it
Backup for pharmacies, workload by workload
- NAS backupScanned prescription archives often live on a NAS in the back office.
- Laptop and endpoint backupCounter and back-office PCs hold local files and settings the pharmacy depends on.
- Microsoft 365 backupCorrespondence with prescribers and care homes needs a copy outside Microsoft.
- NIS2 CompliancePharmacy organisations of 50 FTE or more fall under the Cyberbeveiligingswet.
The software you use, and what we protect around it
| Pharmacom (PharmaPartners) | A pharmacy information system used by Dutch pharmacies. Ask PharmaPartners where your data is hosted and how you can export it; Mindtime protects the workstations, mail and local storage around it. |
|---|---|
| HiX by ChipSoft | ChipSoft lists pharmacies among HiX users. If it runs on servers you manage, Mindtime backs up those servers and databases; for a hosted set-up, check the supplier's backup terms. |
| Scanned prescription archive | Scans kept on a server or a Synology or QNAP NAS. Mindtime backs up that storage off-site. |
| Microsoft 365 | Mail with GPs, wholesalers and care homes, plus shared documents. Mindtime backs up Microsoft 365 to its Dutch and German data centres. |
| Counter and back-office workstations | Windows PCs at the counter and in the back office. Mindtime backs up endpoints so a failed PC can be replaced with its data. |
Before you switch
What pharmacies ask us first
Our pharmacy information system supplier hosts everything.
Then the supplier backs up its own platform. Your scanned archive, mail, workstations and any local server are still yours to protect. Mindtime covers those, in its own data centres in the Netherlands and Germany.
Isn't a backup just a copy of the same problem if we get ransomware?
Not with immutable backups. Mindtime's copies are protected by Object Lock, with an extra air-gapped copy, so ransomware cannot alter them. Backups are scanned for malware, and isolated recovery lets you check restored data before it goes back into use.
Where is our patient data stored?
Only in Mindtime's own Tier III data centres in the Netherlands and Germany, audited against ISO 27001 and NEN 7510. Every contract includes a data processing agreement.
FAQ
Questions about backup for pharmacies
How long must a pharmacy keep prescriptions and patient files?
Twenty years. The KNMP explains that prescriptions are part of the medical record under the Regeling Geneesmiddelenwet and are kept for 20 years, the same term the WGBO sets for the patient file. Since 1 January 2020 this term replaced the earlier 15 years.
Can we rely on a scanned archive instead of paper?
The KNMP says paper can be destroyed when digitising is set up properly and the scan holds the same information as the original. The archive then has to remain readable and searchable for 20 years, which makes an independent, checked backup of that archive essential.
Does the Cyberbeveiligingswet apply to our pharmacy?
Healthcare providers fall under it from 50 FTE, or when both turnover and balance sheet exceed the EU small-enterprise ceiling. A single community pharmacy is usually below that, but a pharmacy organisation with several branches may not be. If you are in scope, register with the NCSC and report significant incidents.
Can we try Mindtime first?
Yes. A free 15-minute demo shows how Mindtime would protect your scanned archive, servers and counter workstations. Microsoft 365 backup comes with a 7-day free trial, so you can test the backup of your pharmacy mail on your own account. Questions are answered by people, in Dutch, German or English.
See it with your own data
Book a 15-minute demo
We show you a backup and a restore, and answer your questions in Dutch, German or English. No offshore call centres, no chatbots.