The purpose of the European Health Record is to give European citizens more control over access to and sharing of their health data. It should also promote scientific research, innovation and policy. Once more details about the bill are known, the House of Representatives will be informed.
So writes Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports Ernst Kuipers in a letter to the House of Representatives (1).
In early May, the European Commission presented a legislative proposal for a European electronic health record, also known as the European Health Data Space (EHDS) (2). In this way, the EU executive wants to give healthcare specialists access to anonymized medical data to conduct research on new treatments, vaccines and drugs.
Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, called the bill "a historic step forward toward digital healthcare in the EU."
Margaritis Schinas, Vice President of the European Commission, also has high hopes for the EHDS. "The European Health Data Space will mark a new start for the EU's digital health policy, putting health data at the service of citizens and science."
For Judith Tielen and Queeny Rajkowski (both VVD), the European Commission's bill came as a big surprise. After all, they feel that it "does not solve any urgent and major European problem." The MPs therefore decided to submit a number of written questions to Health Minister Kuipers. Among other things, they wondered why the House had not been informed about the European bill.
Minister Kuipers has answered the questions of Tielen and Rajkowski. In a letter to the Lower House, he writes that the European electronic health record has two goals in mind: to give citizens more control over their own medical data and to stimulate scientific research.
"To enable citizens to exercise these rights, a number of aspects need to be met. These aspects are further elaborated in the proposal where it addresses the availability of health data in the provision of care (primary use), so that the right care can be given at the right place at the right time anywhere in the EU," Minister Kuipers said.
He emphasizes that nowhere in the bill does it mention a European patient record or a central repository for medical data.
The bill also includes measures to ensure product safety and interoperability. This not only ensures the security of medical data of European citizens, but also gives them more control over their own health data. The possibility of using anonymous health data for scientific, according to the minister, is in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG).
A so-called BNC fiche will provide the House of Representatives with more information about the bill. 'BNC' stands for Assessment New Commission Proposals. This is a document from the Dutch government in which MPs are updated on a bill from the European Commission. In it, the government also tells what is known about the European forces surrounding the bill.
The VVD'ers wondered if the European Commission's bill was the reason why the plenary discussion of the Electronic Data Exchange in Health Care Act (Wegiz) was pushed forward. Minister Kuipers confirmed that. "In fact, I think it is important that this European development is also taken into account in the preparation for the plenary discussion of the Wegiz," the minister said.
