FACUA-Consumers in Action has criticized that the ministries of Health and Labor have ruled out getting involved in the complaints filed against the healthcare group Quirón, after the organization reported that the company sent workers messages about a supposed "cancer risk" after medical examinations, allegedly in an attempt to get them to contract additional tests. FACUA maintains that these notices, beyond informing, would have functioned as a commercial hook to generate sales of tests.
The request was submitted in May 2024, asking both ministries to investigate whether the private company was widely using the results of medical examinations to offer paid services, despite the fact that nine months later, the association has not been informed of any action taken.
FACUA also warns that sending commercial communications requires explicit consent, as established by Quirón Prevención's privacy policy. In these cases, the healthcare group would not have obtained said consent, which is why the company would lack legitimacy to offer additional services to workers, who do not have a direct contractual relationship with Quirón.
The association has underlined that the advertising of these services is presented in a context of gravity due to alarmism, by having mentioned serious illnesses such as cancer or diabetes, which could generate anguish and pressure on employees to contract unnecessary tests. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the processing of personal data is only lawful if the data subject has given their consent for specific purposes, and it is up to the controller to demonstrate that this consent was granted.
