The value of data in healthcare is something that I’ve touched upon numerous times in the past, and the European Union are attempting to lead the way through the creation of a Digital Single Market through which there will be a free flow of non-personal data.

“The Digital Single Market is rapidly taking shape; but without data, we will not make the most of artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and other technological advances. These technologies can help us to improve healthcare and education, transport networks and make energy savings: this is what the smart use of data is all about. Our proposal will free up more public sector data for re-use, including for commercial purposes, driving down the cost of access to data and helping us to create a common data space in the EU that will stimulate our growth,” the European Commission say.

The proposals build on the GDPR regulations that came into force recently.  They will help to ensure that:

• There is better access to, and reusability of public sector data.  This will be done via a revised law on public sector information that will limit the circumstances under which public bodies can charge more than marginal costs for the reuse of their data.  They will also require bodies to provide an API so that real-time access to data can be achieved.
• Scientific data sharing, with specific recommendations to address the various technological and policy changes in recent years.  They offer guidance on implementing open access policies in line with open science objectives, research data and data management, the creation of a European Open Science Cloud, and text and data-mining.
• New guidance for data sharing in both B2B and B2G (business-to-government) contexts, with this guidance covering both the legal and technical principles of data sharing.
• Securing citizens’ healthcare data while fostering European cooperation.  The European Commission have outlined a plan to secure citizens access to their health data, whilst also opening up the possibility of sharing it across borders.  The proposals also cover the interoperability of electronic health records, whilst also supporting the voluntary coordination in sharing data.

The next stage is to work with the European Parliament and the European Council to build these proposals into rules on Public Sector Information.  With the data economy said to be worth €300 billion in 2016 (and set to grow to €739 billion by 2020), it’s a move that cannot come fast enough.