OHDSI Belgium – National Node
Local Collaboration. European Impact.
The Belgian National Node is one of the most active and established OHDSI communities in Europe. It was born spontaneously from the Belgian EHDEN community, when data partners, certified SMEs, and other stakeholders expressed strong interest in building a national OHDSI network.
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.
Belgium follows a hands-on approach focused on getting things done through open-science collaboration. The Node promotes Belgian participation in OHDSI network studies while contributing to a harmonized Belgian health data ecosystem aligned with OHDSI Europe, the European Health Data Space, and national legislation.
Community Snapshot
220+
Mailing list subscribers
490+
LinkedIn followers
15
Data partners
3
Hospital networks
Stakeholders include academic and general hospitals, research institutes, SMEs, NGOs, public bodies, and citizen-oriented organizations across Belgium.
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.
- Create visibility and awareness within and beyond the Belgian OHDSI community.
- Serve as a point of contact and matchmaker for OMOP expertise, services, and data.
- Promote technical harmonization, including collaboration on Belgian terminology mappings and shared implementation experience.
Gallery
Focus areas
Working groups
- BE Vocabulary & Terminology Alignment Working Group
- Oncology Working Group
Notable achievements
- Hosting and shaping key OHDSI Europe events, including the 2025 Symposium
- Recognition within the international community, including collaboration awards
- Consistent contributions to European coordination and community initiatives
Other focus areas
- Data quality assessment & improvement
- Mapping support
- Hospital data & claims data
- Disease-specific areas such as multiple sclerosis, oncology, and cardiology
- Belgian terminology harmonization
- Promotion of inspirational use cases and shared implementation experience
How to join OHDSI Belgium?
Governance
- Lead Institution: Hasselt University
- Node Leads: ✉Liesbet Peeters & ✉Ilse Vermeulen (NN manager), Biomedical Data Sciences
- Co-Lead Institution: Antwerp University Hospital
- Node Co-Lead: ✉
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Medical Oncology
Belgium follows a lightweight, inclusive governance model, with a Core Group that ensures representation from across hospital networks and all stakeholder types. The Node has a flat organisational structure and empowers members to contribute through working groups, shared activities, and open collaboration.
Join the OHDSI Community and select the Europe chapter:
www.ohdsi.org/community/Request to be added to the Belgium mailing list / newsletter:
Follow the Node on LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/ohdsi-belgiumParticipate in open national events, yearly plenary meetings, and working groups.
Activities
Useful resources
Community organisation
- Regular meetings of an 8-member Core Group representing different stakeholder types
- Yearly plenary Node meeting in summer at the OHDSI Europe annual symposium
- Yearly virtual plenary Node meeting in winter
- Focused meetings depending on working group needs
- Quarterly newsletter
- Teams channel where meeting reports can be consulted
Upcoming events
- All Actors Meet in-person - Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 9:30AM CET - Erasmus MC, Rotterdam (OHDSI EU Symposium)
- Webinar “Spotlight on collaborator showcase OHDSI EU Symposium” - Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at 3PM CET
Contributing organizations (selected)
Belgium’s Node includes contributions from a wide range of organizations across the health data landscape, including academic and general hospitals, government bodies, NGOs, research institutes, SMEs, pharma companies, and citizen-facing organizations. The selection below highlights active participants in Node activities, events, and working groups, including Belgian data partners.
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.