BE OHDSI Belgium – National Node
Local expertise. National coordination. European impact.
The Belgian National Node is one of the most active and established OHDSI communities in Europe. It brings together hospitals, research institutions, SMEs, public bodies, and civil-society organizations working to improve Belgium’s distributed health data landscape.
The Node provides a trusted national ecosystem to share expertise, accelerate OMOP implementation, address Belgian-specific challenges such as national vocabularies and hospital networks, and connect local initiatives to the wider OHDSI Europe community.
Objectives
- Support correct and sustainable OMOP adoption across Belgian hospitals, research groups, and organizations.
- Align Belgian data models and vocabularies with European and global OHDSI standards.
- Grow a national learning community that shares solutions, code, mappings, and implementation experience.
- Provide an accessible entry point for newcomers beginning their OMOP journey.
- Connect Belgian efforts to national and European research programmes and disease-area networks.
- Surface Belgian needs and opportunities within the OHDSI Europe community and policy discussions such as EHDS.
Working Groups & Focus Areas
OHDSI Belgium supports a mix of standing working groups and practical implementation themes that help partners collaborate on shared challenges.
- Oncology Working Group
- Belgian Vocabulary & Terminology Alignment Working Group
- Data quality assessment & improvement
- Mapping support
- Hospital data & claims data
- Disease-specific areas such as multiple sclerosis, oncology, and cardiology
Note: these sections are evergreen. Working groups can be added or retired without altering the page structure.
The Node organizes national community meet-ups, All Actors Meet events, and introductory sessions for organizations that are new to OMOP.
Activities include practical workshops on vocabularies, oncology, mapping, and data quality, with a focus on implementation needs in the Belgian context.
OHDSI Belgium contributes to Belgian and European research efforts, participates in national conferences and summits, and brings Belgian priorities into OHDSI Europe coordination.
This describes what the Node does generally, rather than a single year’s highlights.
Notable Achievements
- Hosting and shaping key OHDSI Europe events, including the 2025 Symposium
- Recognition within the international community, including collaboration awards
- Leadership and operationalization of national working groups
- Belgium-focused publications and position papers
- Consistent contributions to European coordination and community initiatives
Participating Organizations (Selected)
Belgium’s Node includes contributions from a wide range of organizations across the health data landscape. The selection below highlights active participants in Node activities, events, and working groups.
This is not an exhaustive list and will evolve as the community grows.
Connect to the Belgian Node, follow its activities, and find the most relevant entry point for your organization or role.