On 3 May, the Commission published an open public consultation on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) - an important building block of the European Health Union. The EHDS aims to make full use of digital health to provide high-quality healthcare and reduce inequalities. It will promote access to health data for prevention, diagnosis and treatment, research and innovation, as well as for policy-making and legislation. The EHDS will place individuals' rights to control their own personal health data at its core. The consultation will remain open for responses until 26 July 2021.
Members of the public, stakeholders and organisations are welcome to contribute to this consultation. National public health, digital health and data protection authorities, existing data authorisation bodies, healthcare professionals and providers, health insurers, organisations representing patients and civil society active in digital health, academia and research institutions, ethics committees, trade unions, as well as the digital, pharmaceutical and medical devices industries might have a particular interest to contribute.
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: ″The European Health Data Space will be a crucial component of a strong European Health Union. It will enable EU-wide collaboration for better healthcare, better research and better health policy making. I invite all interested citizens and stakeholders to take part in the consultation and help us leverage the power of data for our health. This will have to rest on a strong foundation of non-negotiable citizens' rights, including privacy and data protection.″
Innovative solutions and digital technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), can transform healthcare systems. They make them more sustainable and improve people's health. The development of these technologies requires secure access by researchers and innovators to substantial amounts of health data.
This public consultation focusses on:
the access to and use of health data for healthcare provision, research and innovation, policy-making and regulatory decision;
fostering a genuine single market for digital health services and products, including innovative ones.
Facilitating better access to, and exchange of, health data is essential to ensure increased accessibility, availability and affordability of healthcare. As ECOPNET, we invite interested stakeholders to contribute in the public consultation. If you wish to learn more about EHDS, you may contact us.
Background
The creation of a European Health Data Space is one the key priorities of this Commission in the area of health. The purpose of the EHDS is to promote health-data exchange and support research on new preventive strategies, as well as on treatments, medicines, medical devices and outcomes.
In the Communication on the European Strategy for Data, the Commission announced its objective to deliver concrete results in the area of health data and to understand the potential generated by developments in digital technologies. The collection, access, storage, use and re-use of data in healthcare present specific challenges that need to be addressed. This requires a regulatory framework that best serves individuals' interests and rights, especially as regards the processing of sensitive personal health data. In this context, the Commission adopted its Data Governance Act proposal (2020) with conditions regarding access to data, and provisions to foster trust in voluntary data sharing.
It will stimulate innovation in health and care for better treatment and outcomes, and encourage innovative solutions that make use of digital technologies, including AI.
Source: The European Commission Press Corner
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