What data which concerns me will be published ?
See here.
For how long will the data remain on line ?
Data made public will remain online for a period of three years, after which they will be erased.
Why is it that I cannot find my name on the platform while I did received benefits or premiums from the industry ?
Benefits or premiums received in 2015 or 2016:
- the received benefits or premiums do not enter in a category requiring individual publication (eg.: meals, remuneration received for research and development, gifts of limited value linked to professional exercise)
- you have not given your consent for publication of the received benefits or premiums, as required by the privacy legislation
- the received benefits or premiums were credited to your company in such a way that the name of the company – rather than your name – is used for the publication
- the received benefits or premiums were credited to a healthcare organisation (eg: the hospital where you work) so it is the name of the latter which will figure in the register.
Benefits or premiums received as from 2017:
- the received benefits or premiums do not enter in a category requiring individual publication (eg.: meals, remuneration received for research and development, gifts of limited value linked to professional exercise).
What can I do if the published information is incorrect ?
There is a procedure to be followed in case of incorrect data. On the website, where your data are published (see “Consult the register”), you can click on a button to report a possible error. When you press the ‘send’ key, the form will go directly to the pharmaceutical or medical device company that published the data concerned. The latter will then contact you 1) in order to check your identity and 2) to carry out the necessary corrections. This procedure will therefore take place between the company and yourself directly, and not via the platform.
Can I delete my personal data ?
- Benefits or premiums received in 2015 and/or 2016
The companies process your personal data according to the Belgian law of 8 December 1992 relating to the protection of the right to privacy. Consequently, as a natural person, you have given an informed consent prior to the publication of your data (often via a contract you entered into with the company concerned). If you still wish to delete your data, you must contact the company that published your data, via the form provided. The company will delete your data or not, depending on your specific situation.
- Benefits or premiums received as from 2017
My data are incorrect: There is a procedure in place to correct your data. On the website, where your data are published in the Transparency Register, there is a specific field. If you click and fill in this field, the company that has disclosed your data will receive a message. This company will subsequently contact you and make the necessary corrections. The further processing takes place between the company and yourself, not through the platform.
I do not want my data to be visible in the Transparency Register: Given the fact that publishing your data has a legal basis in the Sunshine Act, you can not oppose to the publication of the data mentioned in this law. The companies subject to notification should therefore not have your consent to disclose this information in the Transparency Register. However, they should inform you of this in view of the Privacy Act ( “Law of December 8, 1992 for the protection of privacy with regard to the processing of personal data”). Often this happens through a clause that is included in the agreement (s) that you have entered into with the companies concerned.
Is it correct that the premiums and benefits granted to/paid on the account of my single-person company must be made public on behalf of my own name as natural person?
Yes, that’s correct. In the case of the payment of fees (or expenses) under a consultancy contract, the Sunshine Act and its Royal decree provide that the publication always takes place on behalf of the natural person who performed the services and who is at the origin of the said fees/expenses, and consequently not on behalf of the company on whose account the fees were actually paid. In the case of sponsoring of the participation in a scientific event, the legislation provides that publication takes place on behalf of the healthcare professional (natural person) who actually participated in the scientific event.
There is one exception, namely the situation in which premiums and benefits are granted in the context of scientific research (as defined in the Sunshine Act), in which case publication takes place in an aggregated manner.