My shared health record

My Shared Health Record

What is it ?

This is a set of documents that your health professionals, in consultation with you, decides to share because they are necessary and relevant for better care of your health. Materials on health networks in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia are your shared health records.

Since there is no legal obligation to publish documents, shared health records are not intended to be exhaustive.  Be mindful that shared health records are not an automatic pooling of all available medical data among all doctors who have treated you in or out of a hospital. Do not hesitate to ask the health professionals that have treated you if they actually publish your medical documents.

Your consent is the starting point for creating your shared health records that are added to each time of you visit different health professionals.

What it is used for ?

During your lifetime, you will consult different health professionals. Each creates a folder concerning your health. Unfortunately, these folders are not connected to each other, which can result in important missing information when you visit one doctor or another.

Moreover, no one is protected from the unexpected and sometimes a person has to consult a doctor other than his or her regular doctor (doctor on duty, emergency doctor, another specialist, etc.). They have no knowledge of your health history.

Wherever you are being treated in Belgium; the Brussels Health Network allows access 24/7 to all health professionals connected to your shared health records, provided of course that you have given your consent. The information is accessible even to health professionals who do not know you but will have to treat you.

Your GP may share an emergency medical summary (SUMEHR) to inform other health professionals who will be treating you of your current state of health. He or she will not publish your entire patient file.

What is it in it?

All data held by health professionals can be shared provided they are helpful for your treatment.

Some examples:

• Summarized Electronic Health Record (SUMEHR)
• Your test results (X-rays, blood tests, biological analyses, etc.)
• The list of medications you are taking
• Your hospitalization and consultation reports
• Your pathologies and allergies, if any,
  An inventory of medical and dental care received
• An up-to-date list of your vaccinations
• Any other information that may be useful for your care

All this data creates the so-called ‘shared health record‘.

Genetic data shall, however, be considered particularly sensitive and is subject to strict access rights reserved for doctors.

GPs do not share patient records in their entirety.  They only publish relevant information for continuity of patient care in summarized electronic health records (SUMEHR)

Click here to find out what data is shared