Created in 2005, the Brussels Medical Telematics Association (Abrumet) has been working on a project to share computerized medical information amongst care providers. All Brussels hospitals and the Brussels Federation of General Practitioners collaborated on this project, recognizing the advantages of better communication between care providers. Thus, the “Brussels Health Network” was born. This project is part of the 2013-2017 eHealth action initiated by the government. It is also a partner of the eHealth platform, utilizing its highly secured technologies. The project is sponsored by SPF Santé Publique.
A central server contains an index of medical documents per patient. The medical documents are not centralized but are merely referenced on the Abrumet server. Any doctor with a therapeutic relationship with a patient can access medical data shared on the network.
The main advantages of this Health Network include:
- Better management of administrative tasks and time saving
- Secure access 24/7 to requested medical data
- Improved communication between care providers
- Global overview of a patient’s medical history
- Enhanced ongoing care process
- Better management of secured medical data, helping care providers to offer better care
