The VPH researchers working towards personalised and in silico medicine in the EU, fully support those amendments to the LIBE Committee Report on the Data Protection Regulation, which adequately take into account the needs of public health researchers.
Access to health data is key to predicting, diagnosing and treating disease as well as for the development of new therapies to tackle old health problems. In an age of increasing health challenges, the Data Protection Regulation must ensure that responsible access to health data is maintained.
As such, VPH very much welcomes the balanced approach being taken by many members of the European Parliament who have championed the interests of researchers dedicated to improving health across the EU.
In particular VPH would call on all Members of the European Parliament concerned with the protection of public health in the EU, to vote in favour of the following LIBE amendments:
These amendments would allow for the possibility of a one time or “broad consent”, whereby data subjects can have the right to donate their data for public health research purposes while still maintaining the highest level of data protection.
