EU pushes for healthcare records share with US

Healthcare records held in the UK could be shared with the US, as a result of an initiative being promoted by the EU presidency.

The presidency, currently held by Spain, wants to lay the groundwork for a bilateral agreement between the EU and US for sharing digital healthcare data. "The aim is to create a scenario for clinical information exchange and technical interoperability between the project promoted by the Obama administration and the European project," said the presidency in a statement. The Spanish minister of health and social policy, Trinidad Jiménez, met her US counterpart Kathleen Sebelius in Washington last week to push for the agreement.