Access to health data for secondary uses that serve the public interest can improve health outcomes, strengthen health system performance and support healthcare innovation. When combined with responsible and trustworthy AI, such data can generate new insights, enhance decision-making and help address complex health challenges. However, enabling access and re-use while safeguarding privacy requires robust governance and careful review by authorised bodies. Today, a lack of clear definitions and differing approaches across review bodies can create barriers to data access and impede collaboration within and across countries. This policy brief identifies five broad categories of criteria relevant to assessing public interest: population health and planning; research and innovation; ethical and risk considerations; health equity; and public communication and transparency. It also outlines approaches to help policymakers enable more consistent, trusted and effective health data governance.
