The European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical, and Healthcare IT Industry (COCIR) applauds new rules that encourage nonpersonal data to be stored and processed anywhere in the European Union (EU).
The rules were agreed upon earlier this week by the European Parliament, Council of the European Union, and the European Commission and are a consequence of the proposed regulation for the free flow of nonpersonal data within the EU. This represents an advance in ensuring that patients and healthcare systems can fully benefit from cross-border care, COCIR said.
This agreement reflects many of the realities of modern healthcare technologies, COCIR noted. Keeping equipment updated frequently relies on the capacity of appropriately skilled but often decentralized support staff to be able to connect and access equipment across borders and jurisdictions. In addition, for the organizations involved in providing digital health software and applications, these rules provide them with greater certainty on data storage, particularly cloud-based solutions.
"This agreement is a positive development, one that will allow patients and healthcare systems to benefit from the advantages offered by big data analysis," said Nicole Denjoy, COCIR secretary general. "The fact these rules are designed to complement, rather than conflict with the GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation], is very welcome."
