Health data exchange, health data sharing and decentralised clinical data collections--recommendations from a Belgian expert group.

The Belgian Federal Health Authorities are willing to redefine their eHealth vision and to reformulate their strategy in consensus with healthcare professionals and other domain experts. The National Health Insurance Institute ordered end 2007 a study to a group of experts, representing the majority of the eHealth stakeholders. The aim of the study was to define the strategy to be followed regarding health data exchange, data sharing, decentralised clinical data collections and Electronic Health Records. The experts issued, June 2008, a description of the current standing regarding nationally available (or to be made available) services as well as a set of priorities (structural and technological ones) for the coming years. This paper presents the experts' recommendations and some translated excerpts of their report.