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Empowering Interoperability in European Health Research: A Toolkit Relevant to IDERHA
In a recent publication by among others IDERHA members Rada Hussein, Somayeh Abedian and Philip Gribbon, they present a new standards compliance toolkit developed by leading EU research projects such as IDERHA in collaboration with HSbooster.eu. The toolkit offers a practical guide for aligning with the European Health Data Space for the secondary use of data (EHDS2), a major step toward achieving secure, interoperable, and reusable health data across Europe.
The European Health Data Space (EHDS) is a regulation on the use and exchange of electronic health data in the European Union, covering EHDS2 for the secondary purposes, including research, innovation, regulatory activities, and policy-making, all aimed at improving patient care and enabling better health systems. A recent publication in the Journal of Medical Internet Research presents an interactive interoperability toolkit developed with insights from seven leading cancer research projects, including IDERHA.
Why It Matters for IDERHA?
IDERHA faces challenges common to many European projects. The successful implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) for the secondary use of data hinges on overcoming significant challenges, including properly implementing interoperability standards, harmonizing diverse national approaches to data governance, and integrating rapidly evolving AI technologies. For IDERHA, the interoperability toolkit is a timely and powerful resource that helps us:
- Adopt standards that ensure health data is structured, interoperable, and reusable.
- Align with governance and compliance frameworks, including EHDS2, GDPR, and the evolving EU AI regulations.
- Foster collaboration through shared knowledge, promoting synergies with other EU-funded health initiatives.
In short, this toolkit supports IDERHA in addressing common interoperability challenges while contributing to a federated, patient-centric, and data-driven health research ecosystem in Europe.
Rada HusseinThe interactive toolkit leverages insights from seven leading AI-driven cancer research projects for shaping a common interoperability framework of the EHDS for the secondary use of data.
What’s Inside the Toolkit?
The interactive toolkit is built on the recommendations of Towards the European Health Data Space (TEHDAS) joint action (JA) and based on the new European Interoperability Framework (EIF) to support existing and future European projects in navigating the complex landscape of health data standards, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to implementing the EHDS2 recommended standards for data discoverability and sharing. The toolkit empowers research teams by providing:
- User-friendly modules to help projects develop their own interoperability frameworks.
- Tools that simplify the implementation of EHDS2 technical and governance requirements.
- Features that promote knowledge sharing and best practice exchange among projects
- Flexibility to evolve with updates in EHDS2 and AI-related regulations.
IDERHA can leverage this toolkit to build interoperable infrastructures that align with EHDS2 requirements, improving data quality and accessibility across regions and institutions. By embedding this resource into our workflows, IDERHA can contribute to a federated European health data ecosystem with AI and data-driven solutions.
What’s Next?
The toolkit will continue evolving through collaboration with HSbooster.eu and other European stakeholders. IDERHA’s active engagement can help shape its future iterations of the toolkit, ensuring it remains relevant, adaptive, and impactful. Together, we can support a more coherent and effective implementation of EHDS2 across European projects in health research.
Read the publication and discover the toolkit here.