Your medical data are invaluable for the development of new treatments, scientific breakthroughs and safe, high-quality care – not only for yourself, but also for all future patients in our hospital and in society.
Our mission: scientific research and innovation
As a university hospital, we have a legal obligation to conduct scientific research and carry out clinical studies. Our mission also includes evaluating care and medical activities, developing new technologies, and of course providing academic teaching.
Sometimes we do this on our own. Sometimes we collaborate with academic or industrial partners. Both approaches are essential if we are to continue offering everyone the same high-quality level of care – whether facing a common condition or a very rare disease. All projects are selected with care.
Privacy guaranteed
Medical data is sensitive data. Even if they can save lives, we must treat them with care. Your identity is well protected and not shared. Only the data needed to develop new knowledge is used. Think, for example, of measurable parameters such as blood values. Your name is never included.
When we cooperate with third parties, we do not share data that could lead to recognition. In other words, the data we use is pseudonymised.
If your data is reused within one of these carefully selected projects, we will inform you. Transparent communication about the use of your medical data is very important to us. This is done openly, via our healthcare providers, via written forms, via the privacy statement and other pages on the UZ Leuven website or via the mynexuzhealth app or website.
How can I see if my data were used?
Notifications sent through mynexuzhealth can be found under the ‘Projects’ section.
There, you’ll not only find information about the project itself, but also, for instance, which medical ward is involved and who the contact persons are.
Would you like to do your bit?
Great – there’s nothing else you need to do. Future patients will be grateful to you. Thanks to the reuse of your data, they might be treated faster, more efficiently or with fewer inconveniences.
We warmly invite you to check out the ‘Projects’ section in mynexuzhealth. It’s a good way to see how you’re helping other patients and our hospital.
Would you prefer not to share your data?
In some cases, you have the option to object to the reuse of your data. This is done through an ‘opt-out’, which applies to all future uses.
The opt-out is only possible for the reuse of data that falls outside the legal duties of a university hospital and outside the scope of public interest. This includes projects carried out with industrial partners to develop new treatments.
For situations where the reuse of data serves the public interest, opting out is not possible. Examples of public interest include academic research, registration with the Cancer Registry, and academic training.
How to opt-out?
You can indicate your opt-out in three ways:
- Via mynexuzhealth, your online medical file. In your profile, tick the opt-out box under ‘Reuse of your non-identifiable medical data’. See the images below for more information.
- By filling in the online opt-out form.
- By printing this document and sending it completed and signed to the administrative service centre. The address is listed on the form.
Your profile in mynexuzhealth
Good to know
- Your choice is not retroactive. If you opt out, your medical data will no longer be shared from that moment onwards.
- Only you can register the opt-out. A healthcare provider cannot do this on your behalf.
- You can still participate in clinical studies, no matter your choice.
- You can change your choice at any time.