Nationally standardized broad consent in practice: initial experiences, current developments, and critical assessment

• Published in: Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz Vol. 67; no. 6; p. 637
• Main Authors: Zenker, Sven, Strech, Daniel, Jahns, Roland, Müller, Gabriele, Prasser, Fabian, Schickhardt, Christoph, Schmidt, Georg, Semler, Sebastian C, Winkler, Eva, Drepper, Johannes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: German
• Published: Germany 01-06-2024
• Subjects: Consent Forms - legislation & jurisprudence; Consent Forms - standards; Electronic Health Records - legislation & jurisprudence; Electronic Health Records - standards; Germany; Humans; Informed Consent - legislation & jurisprudence; Informed Consent - standards; National Health Programs - legislation & jurisprudence; Germany; Implementation support; Informed consent; Secondary use of health data; Broad description of purpose; General Data Protection Regulation
• ISSN: 1437-1588; 1437-1588
• DOI: 10.1007/s00103-024-03878-6

The digitalization in the healthcare sector promises a secondary use of patient data in the sense of a learning healthcare system. For this, the Medical Informatics Initiative's (MII) Consent Working Group has created an ethical and legal basis with standardized consent documents. This paper describes the systematically monitored introduction of these documents at the MII sites.
The monitoring of the introduction included regular online surveys, an in-depth analysis of the introduction processes at selected sites, and an assessment of the documents in use. In addition, inquiries and feedback from a large number of stakeholders were evaluated.
The online surveys showed that 27 of the 32 sites have gradually introduced the consent documents productively, with a current total of 173,289 consents. The analysis of the implementation procedures revealed heterogeneous organizational conditions at the sites. The requirements of various stakeholders were met by developing and providing supplementary versions of the consent documents and additional information materials.
The introduction of the MII consent documents at the university hospitals creates a uniform legal basis for the secondary use of patient data. However, the comprehensive implementation within the sites remains challenging. Therefore, minimum requirements for patient information and supplementary recommendations for best practice must be developed. The further development of the national legal framework for research will not render the participation and transparency mechanisms developed here obsolete.