National Digital Health Symposium 2022 Puts the European Health Data Space in the Spotlight
At the National Digital Health Symposium 2022, healthcare experts gathered at the Kaiserin-Friedrich-Haus. © TMF
In May 2022, the European Commission launched the European Health Data Space (EHDS), which is set to become one of the central elements of a strong European health union. The EHDS aims to create a coherent, trustworthy, and efficient framework for using health data for research, innovation, policy, and regulation within the European Union. At the 4th National Digital Health Symposium on December 6, 2022, in Berlin, research, healthcare, and politics experts discussed the opportunities and challenges of using health data across Europe.
The TMF’s Managing Director Sebastian C. Semler opens the conference. © TMF
"The European Health Data Space offers great opportunities for research and healthcare, as intra-European data exchange is intended to enable better healthcare and reuse of health data for research," said Sebastian C. Semler, Managing Director of the TMF, at the beginning of the event. The EHDS is intended to improve cross-border healthcare as well as research and data exchange across Europe. "How exactly this can be achieved and how the connection structures in Germany should be designed now needs to be discussed through a participatory stakeholder dialogue," Semler added.
The EHDS essentially consists of two pillars: EHDS 1 addresses questions related to cross-border healthcare for citizens, while EHDS 2 regulates the secondary use of data for research and innovation. An important connecting structure here is the electronic patient record (EPR). "In the further development of the electronic patient record in the context of the EHDS, the contribution it can make to an immediate improvement in healthcare must be consistently emphasized," demanded Nino Mangiapane of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) at the symposium. Dr. Martin Danner, from the Federal Association of Self-Help Groups (BAG Selbsthilfe), advocated for a greater everyday usefulness of the EPR. The ability to book appointments directly is a crucial functionality, he emphasized.
In the further development of the electronic patient record in the context of the EHDS, the contribution it can make to an immediate improvement in healthcare must be consistently emphasized.
Use of Data for Healthcare in Germany and Europe
The EHDS aims to promote a genuine internal market for digital health services and products. The question arises of what can realistically be expected from the data and what benefits the EHDS will bring to healthcare. Pia Maier from the medical technology company Medtronic emphasized the desirability of structured data from across Europe to make Germany's research location competitive again. Furthermore, there needs to be a better societal discussion about the uses of health data in order to reach a societal consensus. "We need to involve everyone and clearly demonstrate the usefulness of data usage," said Maier.
The first session of the NDHS. From left to right: Dr. med. Leonor Heinz, Jürgen Zurheide, Dr. Stephan Schug, and Nino Mangiapane. © TMF
Dennis Geisthardt from the German Health IT Association (bvitg). © TMF
Bernd Greve is the managing director of mio42 GmbH. © TMF
Nino Mangiapane from the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV). © TMF
Pia Maier from Medtronic GmbH works as a Government Affairs Specialist Digital. © TMF
Dr. med. Leonor Heinz is head of the DESAM-ForNet coordination office. © TMF
Dennis Geisthardt from the bvitg stressed that acceptance by all stakeholders is crucial for the EHDS's success. "We need to better quantify and communicate added value," Geisthardt said.
From the perspective of Tagesspiegel editor Marie Zahout, the focus initially is on education: "What data is being collected, what happens to it?" she posed as a question.
Marcel Weigand from the Independent Patient Counseling Germany initially sees great advantages and opportunities in the EHDS: "It's good that the proposals of the EU Commission are now putting pressure on Germany. After two decades of unsuccessful digitalization attempts due to mutually blocking self-administration and absurd data protection regulations, digitalization of health data is finally moving forward."
Germany Must Establish Connectivity
However, it is important that Germany now acts and develops secure, data-protection-compliant infrastructures. Actors from research, healthcare, industry, and politics agree upon this. "With the EHDS regulation, the EU Commission has made a bold move. Now we are under high pressure to shape the EHDS," said Stefan Höcherl from gematik. "We need to prepare for the European Health Data Space in Germany. Currently, we are far from being able to connect. Especially in data protection, patient consents, data interoperability, and acceptance, we need to catch up and jointly shape the national framework," Semler concluded.
Stefan Höcherl from gematik at the 4th National Digital Health Symposium. © TMF
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National Digital Health Symposium
The National Digital Health Symposium is a networking and exchange forum for service providers, payers, and medical research, including the perspectives of manufacturers and patients. The goal is to accelerate the digital cultural change. It's about realistically facing challenges, tackling them constructively, and jointly shaping the future healthcare system.
About the TMF
TMF – Technology and Methods Platform for Networked Medical Research e.V. stands for research, networking and digitisation in medicine. It is the umbrella organisation for collaborative medical research in Germany, within which leading researchers exchange knowledge, jointly develop ideas and concepts, and thus shape the future of medical research in the digital age. In 2019, TMF launched the National Digital Health Symposium in collaboration with the Society for Insurance Science and Design (GVG).
