Driving healthcare advancements: Open data and the European Health Data Space

The European Commission is building a robust European Health Union, in which all EU countries prepare and respond together to health crises, medical supplies are available, affordable and innovative, and countries work together to improve prevention, treatment and aftercare for diseases. The initiative is taking significant strides towards enhancing healthcare across EU countries, with a recent approval of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) by the European Parliament, marking a pivotal moment in this endeavour. 

The EHDS has the primary use to empower individuals to access their health data electronically, even across different EU Member States, while also enabling health professionals to consult patient files with their consent. Moreover, the EHDS unlocks the potential of health data for a secondary use, facilitating data processing for purposes such as research, statistics, and policymaking.

In this context, data.europa.eu, plays an important role in advancing the EHDS objectives by hosting over 26 000 health-related datasets. Additionally, it showcases nearly 50 use cases related to health, such as the Transparency Portal in Portugal, which aggregates health data from various entities across Portugal and makes them available to the public. This initiative aims to create transparency, increase efficiency in the national health service (NHS) and enable access to high-quality health data for institutions, citizens, and health professionals.

Through initiatives like these, data.europa.eu contributes to promoting innovation, transparency, and accessibility in the healthcare sector, ultimately driving progress in European healthcare systems. Together, these efforts contribute to building a healthier and more resilient Europe, where patient outcomes and healthcare systems continue to advance.

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