Final Word from Thursday, September 7, 2017

For thousands of Czech companies, 2016 was a watershed year. For the first time ever, someone other than their accounting and sales departments gained ready access to a complete list of their customers and suppliers. A tax audit could have always achieved this, but it was the launch of the invoice-matching system that forced companies to send their precious data into a nebulous cloud. Sure, the the finance ministry is sworn to secrecy, but never before had the No. 2 oligarch in the country been in control of it. Companies now have no idea when the attack will come, if ever. Patients will be in a similar position as of next year. For the first time ever, someone other than their doctor will have ready access to their prescription-drug history. All prescriptions will have to pass through a central database. As Pres. Milan Kubek of the ČLK Medical Chamber said, it is amazing how much of their freedom Czechs are willing to give up. Especially when they get so little in return. [Czech Republic electronic Andrej Babiš]