Abstract
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is very much a global health issue and requires collaborative, international health research efforts to address it. A valuable source of information for researchers is the large amount of digital health data that are continuously collected by electronic health record systems at health care organizations. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be the key legal framework with regard to using and sharing European digital health data for research purposes. However, concerns persist that the GDPR has made many organizations very risk-averse in terms of data sharing, even if the regulation permits such sharing. Health care organizations focusing on individual risk minimization threaten to undermine COVID-19 research efforts. In our opinion, there is an ethical obligation to use the research exemption clause of the GDPR during the COVID-19 pandemic to support global collaborative health research efforts. Solidarity is a European value, and here is a chance to exemplify it by using the GDPR regulatory framework in a way that does not hinder but actually fosters solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread around the globe, researchers are racing to understand and contain the pandemic, learn how to best treat patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and the resulting coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and develop a vaccine
A valuable source of information for researchers is the large amount of digital health data that are continuously collected by the electronic health record systems of health care organizations
With the epicenter of the pandemic currently shifting from Europe to the United States, the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be the key legal framework with regard to using and sharing European digital health data for research purposes [8]
Summary
As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread around the globe, researchers are racing to understand and contain the pandemic, learn how to best treat patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and the resulting coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and develop a vaccine. KEYWORDS COVID-19; data sharing; GDPR; research exemption; global health; public health; research; digital health; electronic health records; EHR
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