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Access your health data in electronic format even from a European Member State other than the one in which you live, and allow healthcare professionals to consult patient files – with their consent – also from other EU countries. All with the aim of making treatments more efficient and making a contribution to life-saving clinical research. It will be possible thanks to the creation of the European Health Data Area: on 24 April the European Parliament definitively approved the interinstitutional agreement for its institution with 445 votes in favour, 142 against and 39 abstentions.
The new EU regulation regulates the management of electronic health records which will include patient reports, electronic prescriptions, medical images and laboratory results, and will allow health data to be transferred securely to healthcare professionals in other European countries (with the platform MyHealth@EU), for example when citizens move to another state.
Strengthened privacy protection
It will be possible to download your health record for free, and anonymized health data can be shared for research, for example on rare diseases. Rules are foreseen for strengthened protection of privacy so that anonymous health data can be processed for purposes of public interest, including research, statistics and policy development (so-called secondary use). However, the use of the same data for commercial purposes, including advertising, evaluating insurance applications or loan conditions or making decisions on the labor market, will not be permitted. Decisions on access will be taken by national data access bodies.
Conditional consultation
The newly approved European legislation guarantees the involvement of citizens in the use and consultation of their health data. For this reason, patients will be able to refuse access by professionals (except where this is necessary to protect the vital interests of the interested party or another person) or for research purposes, with the exception of certain public interest purposes , politicians or statisticians. Patients will also have to be informed every time their data is accessed and will have the right to request the correction of incorrect data.
Tool to improve access to healthcare
“With the health data space – explains Tomislav Sokol, co-rapporteur of the Environment Commission – we can exploit the data in our possession in a safe and secure way, giving a great boost to vital research into new treatments. Furthermore, gaps in care will be avoided by ensuring that healthcare providers can access their patients’ medical records across national borders. At the same time, the possibility to object will ensure that patients have a say and that the system is trustworthy. This is an important step forward for digital healthcare in the EU.”