The European Commission is continuing its efforts to facilitate the transfer of health data. On Wednesday 6 February, it presented a recommendation aimed at creating a European format that will allow the secure sharing of electronic health records. The Commission's non-binding document also suggests that Member States should set up a national digital health network.
This document follows a communication presented in April 2018 by the European Commission entitled 'Enabling the digital transformation of health and care services in the digital single market' (see EUROPE 12009). "What we are presenting today follows a simple logic: if citizens can move freely, their health data must be able to follow them", said Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society.
Towards a cross-border exchange framework
At present, 22 Member States already voluntarily participate in the eHealth network, one of the objectives of which is to achieve interoperable services and applications (EU-28, minus Bulgaria, Denmark, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom). This explains why it has already been possible for a Finnish patient to have an electronic prescription recognised in Estonia since mid-January and why it will soon be possible for a Luxembourg doctor to access a Czech patient's file.
The Commission Recommendation encourages Member States to continue their work on patient records and prescriptions, based on the following principles: citizen-centred design, comprehensiveness and machine readability, data protection and confidentiality, consent, verifiability, security, identification and continuity of service. It specifies, for example, that citizens should be able to choose who they give access to their electronic health data and what health information they share.
The Recommendation also suggests that Member States develop 3 other reference areas to be developed in the future (in addition to dossiers and prescriptions): laboratory tests, hospital discharge reports and medical imaging and related reports.
The text also suggests that States should establish a national digital health network in order to increase the interoperability and security of national health systems and to promote the secure exchange of health data in a cross-border context.
Consultation on the eHealth network
In parallel with this initiative, the European Commission has closed the ongoing consultation on the revision of the implementing decision laying down rules for the functioning of the eHealth network (2011/890/EU). The idea, explained Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, is to bring "more clarity and legal certainty to the task of the network (including in relation to eHealth digital service infrastructure)". The Commission will process the contributions sent by stakeholders and will publish its conclusions in the coming months.
The text of the recommendation and the annex can be found at: https://bit.ly/2RJ0bhT. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)