A new regulation on easier and EU-wide sharing and access to health data has been adopted by the Council of the European Union. The legal act for this European Health Data Space (EHDS) aims to achieve better care through data availability. The regulation strengthens patient care and promotes scientific research, innovation and policy in Europe. It also gives citizens more control over their own electronic health data stored and healthcare providers more time for patient care.
The legislative decision was made under the chairmanship of Poland. Izabela Leszczyna, Poland's health minister says on the Council website that the digital transformation of healthcare in Europe is a key priority of the Polish presidency. “The EHDS is a crucial step in this process and will allow EU citizens to access their health data anywhere in the EU.” The legislative act thus also aligns with the National Vision and Strategy on the Health Information System and the Vision and Strategy on Secondary Data Use.
Accurate data
With the new rules, citizens will have faster and easier access to their electronic health data. This applies both in their home countries and when they reside in member states. Also, citizens will have more insight and control over the use of their data. EU countries must therefore establish a digital health authority to implement the new provisions.
For healthcare providers, better data availability means that they will have the necessary and accurate data about their patients faster. Even if that data is in different healthcare systems. This saves a lot of administrative burden and prevents errors. As a result, healthcare providers can focus on helping patients.
The EHDS also contributes to scientific research. Researchers and policymakers also have access to anonymized, secure health data. This allows them to harness the potential of EU health data for scientific research, developing better treatments and improving patient care.
Interoperability
EU countries are not digitizing at the same rate. This complicates data exchange between member states. Under the new regulation, all electronic health record (EHR) systems must comply with the European Electronic Patient Record Interchange Format, for EU-wide interoperability. The regulation will be formally signed by the Council and the European Parliament and will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Carla Meeuwis was recently appointed user chair of IHE Netherlands. Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise Netherlands brings together healthcare providers, suppliers, policy makers and implementers so that together they improve electronic healthcare processes. In her role as user chair, Meeuwis calls on healthcare providers to get much more involved in the interpretation of the EHDS. “Healthcare providers themselves will have to take the lead and indicate what a user-friendly healthcare information system should look like.”
