[Sharing oncological knowledge via expert panels; are there legal obstacles or practical objections?]

Concentration and increasing specialization of oncological care makes it impossible for each hospital to have in-house access to the most up-to-date knowledge on diagnostic and therapeutic options. Therefore, knowledge is increasingly shared through consultation collaboratives. If such consultations do not suffice, then expert panels can be asked to answer specific questions about, for example, primary tumours or metastases. With this new type of consultation it is essential that the rights of both the patients and the professionals are guaranteed. In this article we describe the legal frameworks in which an expert panel can and is allowed to operate. If certain quality requirements regarding the use of medical data, the application procedure for and composition of an expert panel are met, then there should be no legal obstacles or practical objections to introduce expert panels in clinical practice.