Making data sharing between healthcare and social welfare accessible across Drenthe

GGZ Drenthe is one of the leading providers of mental healthcare in the Dutch province of Drenthe, working closely with welfare organisations and local authorities across the region. Driven by external obligations, the need arose to structurally embed data sharing between the medical and social welfare domains, consistently and simultaneously across all twelve municipalities.

The challenge was both legal and practical: how do you ensure that frontline professionals understand what information they can and cannot share, when the underlying legislation is complex and often feels abstract in day-to-day practice?

The challenge

GGZ Drenthe needed to develop clear, widely applicable guidance materials and an e-learning module grounded in real working practice across a range of collaborative partnerships, while remaining fully compliant with medical confidentiality law. The breadth of stakeholders involved, including legal advisers, information security specialists and municipal representatives, made structured alignment a critical part of the assignment.

Blackbear's role

The assignment called for a specialist with a firm footing in both mental healthcare and the social domain, combined with proven experience managing multi-stakeholder processes and producing accessible professional guidance. Blackbear scoped the brief carefully and identified a project lead with a demonstrable background at the intersection of medical confidentiality and data sharing. With the right person in place quickly and well-integrated with existing internal teams, delivery got underway without delay.

Result

Within four months, a complete set of practical guidance documents and protocols was delivered, complemented by an e-learning module compatible with multiple platforms. All materials were aligned with the relevant stakeholders and are immediately deployable for care and welfare professionals across the twelve Drenthe municipalities.