Time and money are essential factors in the treatment of patients of all categories of illnesses. Databases may appear to offer an important contribution to the development of an effective and updated, modern Health Care System. Elisabeth van der Gulik, Hon DL, an actively retired physician, out of practice, reports.

May I introduce myself: I am Elisabeth van der Gulik, new Member of the Editorial Board. I would like to bring information to the audience about actual developments in health care organization in the world, such as the development of clinical databases. Databases are used to gather valuable information about patients, to be used for different clinical and finally also research purposes. Those data may consist of general information, as a basis to the clinics, supplied with results of blood tests, images, reports, up to a complete digital record of the actual medical situation of a certain patient. The data may also concern specific purposes, as different registrations of cancer, donors, epidemiological data, phenotype sampling.

Specialized databases offer the possibility of gathering patients with the same clinical problem, looking for a donor, or waiting for new opportunities of treatment. Exchange of data makes research practices more effective. Databases may be used as archives of all kinds of research results. Positive as well as negative results of investigations could be saved and not become forgotten science, by using the right databases [1].

Data from different health care centers are more valuable when they will be combined with each other. Co-ordination of efforts will bring an easier way of sponsoring and management at the same time, which is needed for financial support and continued existence [1]. Health-RI, a Dutch organization, which aims to empower Personalized Medicine and Health Research, has succeeded to bring research centers, health organizations and funds together, developing a business plan of infrastructure as a support for many different databases. The business plan includes a mechanism of control, presented by a dedicated system, where clinical information is watched over by a system of codes and call centers, for the use of the clinics as well as for research purposes [1].

1.     Coebergh JW (2011) Committee of the Federa at the time of developing the code of conduct, human tissue, and medical research. Code of conduct for responsible use.