[Re-use of medical data for research. What do the Dutch think of the requirement for explicit consent?].

Objective: How do healthcare consumers perceive the use of medical data for scientific research, within the framework of protection of their personal data?

Design: Survey among 731 members of the Healthcare Consumer Panel of the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL).

Method: A written and online questionnaire was used, consisting of general questions and 4 cases per respondent. The questions concerned the degree of trust respondents have in the use of previously registered data for different kinds of healthcare research, and their willingness to make data available under various conditions without being asked for explicit consent.

Results: Respondents showed a high degree of trust in scientific researchers and physicians concerning the re-use of medical data for research. A majority agreed that it is not necessary to be explicitly asked for consent for this kind of research, providing they are informed: one-third found their autonomy in being able to decide to be more important than scientific progress; three-quarters found explicit permission unnecessary as long as the data is well-protected and only used for scientific research.

Conclusion: Data protection in research should be proportional to the risks of misuse and the benefits of the use of the data for research. A large majority of healthcare users trust the researchers, and the existing codes of conduct protect data sufficiently. Therefore, we see no need for stricter requirements for the use of health data, which would unnecessarily limit healthcare research. We do consider greater transparency about the research process to be necessary, in order to maintain a proper balance between personal-data protection and the need to emphasise the necessity for learning in the healthcare system.