“We are in exciting times, with a plethora of ongoing activities delivering new, unparalleled capabilities and conveniences that digital tools and services can offer—if we get it right. The digital transformation of healthcare, with active citizen engagement at its core, is crucial for providing effective prevention and high-quality care. This transformation fosters collaborative relationships between health professionals and citizens, ensuring the best possible outcomes and quality of life for all.”
In Europe, the national and cross-border visions of seamless, integrated, and interoperable digital solutions with secure and consented access to health data has been advanced by the European Health Data Space (EDHS) regulation and emerging European Digital Health Ecosystem which XpanDH is warming up. Europe already benefitted from the success story of the EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate and the convenience of carrying the necessary health information along in a trustful and efficient manner. A thriving Digital Health Ecosystem requires interoperability of technical systems, access to curated health data, and well-supported cross-border services. With XpanDH and partner initiatives, significant progress is being made in advancing adoption of the European Electronic Health Records Exchange format (EEHRxF).
The above visions call to action and require a patchwork of activities necessary to nurture the growing European Digital Health Ecosystem. At the centre of these activities are people. As the proverb goes “.. a chain is never stronger than the weakest link ..” Focus shall be directed towards empowering the people and enhancing transdisciplinary capacity and capabilities for addressing legal, ethical, technical, and organizational challenges. In XpanDH, we set out to mobilize and build capacity in individuals and organisations to create, adapt and explore purposeful use of interoperable digital health solutions and drive adoption of the European Electronic Health Records Exchange format (EEHRxF across Europe.
Our approach of building a “network–of–networks” and “communities of doers”, is one of the keys for assisting early adopters, guiding developers and policy makers, and suggesting real-world use cases. At the same time, this approach seeks to inspire and mobilise health professionals and empower citizens and patients as well as their support networks.
A personal health data space under the European Health Data Spaces can add tremendous value to health and care. For this they require the building of an efficient and sustainable Pan-European support structure for health and wellness, using relevant and quality health data at any point of needs, wherever and whenever needed. For these Data Spaces to thrive, it is essential to have digitally skilled Health Professionals – to create and implement interoperable, user-friendly solutions, to adopt and use such solutions in everyday practice, and Empowered Citizens – to embrace those solutions and transform their health, wellness, and lives.
Building on our achievements in XpanDH, the accumulated insights regarding the importance of upskilling, reskilling, and cross-skilling professionals and citizens will be handed over to the successor Erasmus+-funded innovation alliance, “Xpanding Innovative Alliance for Interoperability Skills in Digital Health” (acronym XiA– Xpanding Innovative Alliance). The XiA project will develop novel, high-quality multidisciplinary courses to advance interoperability standards, incorporating soft/green skills, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. As such, XiA will address the knowledge needs of all actors within a thriving Digital Health Ecosystem. This initiative will foster strong connections, focusing on enhancing the capacity of healthcare providers, digital health enterprises, and individuals to adopt the European Health Data Space paradigm and embrace a culture of responsibly sharing and using health data—for the ultimate benefit of society. To build a more robust federated network, we must strengthen even the weakest links.
About the authors:
Anne Moen, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
Georgi Chaltikyan, MD, PhD, Professor and Head of Digital Health, Deggendorf Institute of Technology (Germany)