Caribbean Tech Advancement Must Prioritise Security and Trust
May 19, 2026
Barbados' Data Protection Commissioner Lisa Greaves
Experts are warning that without strong data protection safeguards and firm control over intellectual property, the Caribbean’s push towards a more integrated digital healthcare system could undermine both public trust and economic value.
Barbados’ Data Protection Commissioner, Lisa Greaves, stressed that rapid digitisation brings significant risks and that privacy should, therefore, be entrenched from the outset. She said data protection is ultimately about people and not simply about compliance.
At the same time, attorney-at-law and intellectual property (IP) and innovation expert Carla Parris contended that the Caribbean’s challenge lies not in a lack of creativity, but in a failure to assert ownership.
The two were among a host of specialists who addressed the recently-held Digital Health Symposium, jointly hosted by the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Cave Hill Campus, and FutureHEALTH.
Greaves said: “In the context of digital health, when you are bringing solutions, these should have data protection embedded in them by design and by default. Any solution has to be patient-centric because you’re not really protecting data; you’re protecting people.”
Referencing Barbados’ legislative approach, Greaves pointed to a notable divergence from international practice in the Data Protection Act.
“In Barbados, we did not make health data ‘sensitive personal data’. Shocking, yes. Every other country did; we did not. What we did is make genetic data and biometric data sensitive personal data,” she explained.
“The risk is what governs how you treat the data. So, if there is a higher risk of health data being exposed, then it is expected that the mechanisms to protect that data are commensurate with the risk.”
Greaves spoke of the growing principle that individuals retain a stake in their personal information and argued that patients should be treated as owners of their data, with systems built around transparency and consent. Without this clarity, she suggested, trust in digital healthcare services could quickly erode.
She outlined several rights available to patients, including the right to access their data, request that it be erased, have processing halted where there is inaccuracy or no legal basis, and have records transferred to another healthcare provider at the patient’s request.
As healthcare systems become increasingly interconnected, large volumes of sensitive patient information are moving across platforms and borders.
While the Data Protection Commissioner acknowledged that such flows are unavoidable in modern care delivery, she said the issue may not the sharing itself but the conditions under which it occurs.
“What safeguards have you put in place? It’s not the breach you’re being penalised for; it is whether the safeguards were in place and what you did after.”
One such safeguard, she suggested, is the appointment of data privacy officers through professional associations, rather than requiring each private medical practitioner to appoint someone to that role, which would be costly.
From a regional standpoint, Greaves identified challenges such as limited resources, systems that operate in silos, and inadequate patient awareness that could limit uptake of digital solutions.
“I find what we have done generally in our digital transformation journey, so far, is to focus a lot on the technology, and we have kind of forgotten the people,” she added.
Meanwhile, on the issue of intellectual property, presenter and expert Carla Parris was critical of the approach taken by many business start-ups.
“All they’re focused on is building the product, but very few people are considering the IP aspects.”
She warned that failing to protect intellectual property can lead to products being commercially exploited abroad without benefiting the region. Parris added that many companies only address these issues after bringing products to market, often resulting in disputes.
“Many people launch their product and then they are hit with a cease-and-desist letter.”
Parris said strong intellectual property protection has also become increasingly critical for attracting investment, as investors want a clear understanding of what a company owns beyond its product.
According to the attorney-at-law, well-defined ownership structures can also determine ultimately whether a venture is able to scale successfully or stall.
