Patients consent to sharing of medical data among care providers

About 5 million Belgians have given their permission for their medical data to be exchanged between care providers.

This gives care providers permanent access to a patient’s most recent medical information, such as a blood sample or prescribed medicine. Citizens can give this permission at a GP, pharmacist, mutuality, another care provider, the admissions department of a hospital or online.

At the start of 2015, only 600,000 Belgians had given their permission. The increase is in part due to a campaign by the medical insurance agency Inami.

“As a patient, it’s in your best interests for a care provider to have access to the most recent relevant information from your medical dossier,” public health minister Maggie De Block said in a press release. “That way, you can be sure they have all the necessary data to quickly provide the correct diagnosis, even if you have never had a consultation with them.”

The permission only gives access to a patient’s medical data to care providers who have a therapeutic relationship with that patient. A doctor working for a mutuality, medical advisor at an insurance company or company doctor has no access. A patient can also choose at any time to deny certain or all care providers access to all or particular data.

Photo: Ingimage