On May 7th, stakeholders from across Europe convened for the third webinar of the XpanDH Project X-Net 10, marking another significant stride towards advancing healthcare interoperability and innovation within the EU. Hosted by Alberto Zanini and Chiara Bellanca from ARIA S.p.A. Lombardia, the webinar provided a dynamic platform for fruitful discussions and the exploration of new frontiers in health data interoperability.

In the realm of European healthcare, interoperability has emerged as a critical cornerstone for enhancing patient care and streamlining healthcare delivery across borders. At the forefront of this initiative stands the European Electronic Health Record Exchange Format (EEHRxF), a standardized framework poised to revolutionize how health data is shared and utilized throughout the European Union.

Interoperability refers to the ability of different systems, devices, or applications to exchange and interpret data coherently and usefully. In the context of healthcare, interoperability means that various healthcare systems, such as electronic health records (EHRs), medical devices, and other health IT systems, can seamlessly share and use health information to support patient care, research, and public health initiatives.

In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, the adoption of digital technologies is pivotal to enhancing patient care, optimizing healthcare systems, and facilitating cross-border health services.

One of the pillars of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) is the secondary use of health data – for research and policymaking, among other purposes. Enter anonymisation, to make this possible. What is different from EHR data here?