Statement: In an emergency, every doctor should be able to access my file

A few years ago, everyone was asked the question: do you want to make medical data interchangeable as standard for healthcare providers such as GPs, hospitals and pharmacies? This can be done via a ‘national switching point’. 4 million people said ‘no’ to this question. They give permission on a case-by-case basis, or no permission at all. But if you are brought into the hospital unconscious, you cannot give permission to the doctor. This results in dangerous situations, according to specialists. What now?

Urgent permission

The minister’s solution: you can soon also tick that in an emergency you can well gives permission. ‘In an emergency, the doctor may look at my file’ is the new option, in addition to ‘permission to share’ and ‘no permission’. You can arrange this via the website www.volgjezorg.nl or with the various healthcare providers themselves. The minister hopes to have it settled this calendar year. Give permission in an emergency. Is that a good idea?

‘Yes of course!’

Doctors can treat a patient better if they can look at medical records, such as those about medications or allergies. You can give permission for this by default, or on a case-by-case basis. But in an emergency it is always nice if the doctor is well informed.

‘No I do not want that’

Like 4 million other Dutch people, I do not want my medical data to be available to doctors or pharmacists in the region via a switching point. If it is really necessary, I would rather give permission to a healthcare provider to view my data. In the special case that I would not be able to do so, my partner or family will help find the missing data. And in any case: it only concerns a limited part of the file that can be viewed via the switching point.

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