Belgium’s health data insufficiently used

The personal data of patients in Belgium is not being used as efficiently as it should be, according to a study by the Operation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Le Soir reports. Of the 19 countries surveyed, Belgium is among the countries with the most restricted use of personal health data over the past five years, along with Canada, Italy, Finland, Portugal and Switzerland. According to the OECD, processing and analysis of personal health data can help evaluate treatments and their costs, detect under-utilisation or over-prescription, review good practice recommendations and manage health expenditure. The OECD added that “highly sensitive” information should be used for research and evaluation, while ensuring the anonymity of the data. The report also emphasises the “negative” role of the Federal Commission for the Protection of Privacy in Belgium against the potential scientific exploitation of data from the National Cancer Registry. But it does approve of a progressive implementation of the eHealth system, the public agency responsible for the exchange of electronic data in the health sector.