# How should a digital mental health system record consent and its withdrawal?

URL: https://tymirahealth.com/resources/faqs/how-should-a-digital-mental-health-system-record-consent-and-its-withdrawal
For: Digital health teams | Data protection and privacy | Reviewed by Independent clinical reviewer, Registered mental health clinician, Kenya | Last reviewed 8 November 2026

**Answer:** Store consent as structured data, not just a signed PDF: what was agreed, for which purpose, by whom, when, through which channel and which notice version. Under the Data Protection Act people can withdraw consent at any time; withdrawal does not make earlier processing unlawful. The General Regulations require you to stop only the processing covered by the withdrawal. Make withdrawal as easy as giving consent, propagate it to connected systems, and keep an audit record. The FHIR Consent resource can represent these decisions for exchange.

Sources: Kenya Law: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/2019/24/eng@2022-12-31 - Kenya Law: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/ln/2021/263/eng@2022-12-31 - Office of the Data Protection Commissioner: https://www.odpc.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guidance-note-on-Consent.pdf - HL7 International: https://hl7.org/fhir/R4/consent.html

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