HELT TALKS

What are the 'HELT Talks' ?

HELT stands for Health, Law, and Technology – three broad subject areas that intersect each other in discourses around improving quality and access to health care, or advancing medical research beyond the state-of-the-art. Following on the success of the HELT Symposium, our annual flagship event which brings together representatives from the academia, industry, research organisations, healthcare professionals and policymakers, the HELT Talks was conceived as a year-round (monthly) event, providing a dynamic platform for thought-provoking discussions and stimulating debates on the future of digital health and care, through the prism of regulatory responses and relevant policy initiatives.

What is the typical format of a session at HELT Talks?

HELT Talks sessions are typically divided into two parts. In the first part, each speaker gives a presentation on a specific topic, touching upon particular challenges and open issues around the integration of technology in the realm of health care that require delving into legal and regulatory frameworks. The second part of the session aims at encouraging a deeper level of reflection on the topic under discussion, through organic conversations between the speakers and the audience.

What kind of topics are covered at HELT Talks?

HELT Talks cover a breadth of topics on law, health and technology, ranging from legal challenges for the use of health data and regulatory issues concerning advanced medical technology, to the use of artificial intelligence in medicine, data governance and data extraterritoriality in health care.  

Medical Confidentiality in the Era of Electronic Health Data Sharing: Challenges and Solutions 

Medical confidentiality is a key pillar in the patient-doctor relationship. It exists to safeguard the patient’s right to private and family life and the right to the protection of personal data, as well as to pursue an objective of public interest of trusting those that provide healthcare and ultimately the system.  

With the increasing digitalisation of healthcare, the new rules on electronic health data sharing in Europe and novel rights for individuals to access, download, rectify or transmit health data electronically all propelled by the European Health Data Space Regulation (EHDS), there will be new challenges to the principle of medical confidentiality. Unauthorised access, unlawful disclosure, data breaches, inadequate consent processes, and lack of training are risks that need to be addressed.

• How Belgian and The Netherlands are preparing physicians and other healthcare professionals for the rights and obligations of the European Health Data Space Regulation?  
• How anonymisation and pseudonymisation will be ensured between health data holders and health data access bodies when transferring health data in the secondary use regime?  
• What technologies and best practices can be put in place to ensure medical confidentiality and minimum administrative burdens? 

This talk intends to shed some light on these issues, providing ideas and information on the practical implementation of the EHDS. We will have the opportunity to hear from Dr Inge Franki, EU Case Manager at the Belgian Health Data Agency, and Mr Thomas Hellebrand, Senior Policy Officer on the European Health Data Space at the Dutch Ministry of Health Welfare and Sport. Prof. Dr Paul Quinn will provide the introductory remarks and Ms Sara Roda will moderate the talk.

VUB Main Campus | U-Residence (Green Room)

Address: Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Etterbeek, Brussels

Direct access to U-Residence via Generaal Jacqueslaan 271 (Entrance 9)

VUB Campus Map 

This is an in-person event, free of charge for all participants.

Registration to the event is mandatory. You can register here: HELT Talk Session 3 Registration

Interested to learn more about HELT Talks and what’s up next? Contact Ashwinee Kumar at ashwinee.kumar@vub.be 

HELT Talks - Session #1

HELT Talks - Session #2