A Coalition of the Doing: First Steps Toward Structural Data Exchange in Healthcare

Despite a growing number of data infrastructures and increasing data initiatives, secondary use of data in healthcare remains structurally underutilised. For this reason, the first roundtable on data exchange in (pharmaceutical) healthcare was organised on 26 May 2026. The roundtable was initiated by Cornelis Boersma (Health-Ecore) in collaboration with Farminform and was chaired by Bruno Bruins (former minister). Around twenty representatives from hospitals, health insurers, pharmaceutical companies, health data organizations, pharmacists and independent data and legal experts came together to discuss the opportunities and challenges of data exchange.

At the start of the event, various practical examples illustrated the challenges parties face. For instance, pharmaceutical companies know how much of their products is used, but not for which indications or in which treatment line these products are administered. This information may also be relevant to other stakeholders, such as physicians and researchers. In addition, health insurers have access to claims data, but these are only available after 2 to 3 years (at a very high aggregated level). These are just a few examples where data exchange and feedback at an aggregated level could offer a solution.

Below, the key insights from the roundtable and the planned follow-up are outlined. The discussions revealed – and this is not new – that putting secondary use of data into practice is complex. This, combined with the goodwill shown by all parties, underscores the need to continue this dialogue together, work towards shared solutions, and move from words to action as a 'coalition of the doing'. To put this into practice, we will work on a use case brought forward by AstraZeneca in the field of oncology, potentially combined with another use case. This will allow us to gain hands-on experience and apply the lessons learned towards a scalable, bottom-up approach.