In an increasingly interconnected world, the covid pandemic has further underscored that our health depends on sharing vital clinical information to ensure patient care and recovery. Digitalization and data sharing have become key tools for improving healthcare systems. This is the direction the European Union is taking. It recently launched the European Health Data Space, which will be gradually implemented over the next few years.

But what is it?

It is an interconnected database that aims to facilitate access to patients’ health information and ensure continuity of care, even if they are in another European country.

The exchange of health information is at the heart of the European health data space and is governed by current national and European legislation.

This will not only lead to more efficient patient care and improved diagnostic capabilities. It will also help research and European companies create more adapted drugs, medical devices and services. Finally, data sharing will lead to better and more informed policymaking.

Based on the existing Cross-Border Healthcare Directive, member states cooperate through a voluntary network of national authorities responsible for e-health.

The digitalization of health systems has accelerated in several European Union countries over the past two years. Portugal is a leader in this area.

That country’s Ministry of Health has mandated an IT body to carry out the digital transition.

Luis Filipe Goes Pinheiro, Chairman of the Board of Directors, SPMS: “With digital data, we want data that is entered once to serve the entire system, generating information that feeds that system. In Portugal, this happens at different levels; today we have clinical data derived from medical information pertaining to each user.”

Portugal has virtually eliminated paper prescriptions. Now about 98% of the country’s hospitals provide them digitally.

Medical records are stored online. Patients can access their information through a Web site and a smartphone app, where they can also connect with a doctor for teleconsultations. The same app also allows patients to contact the Ministry of Health’s contact center for general questions.

In addition to Portuguese, answers are also provided in English and sign language. In the first half of 2022, more than 4.5 million Portuguese people contacted it.

Artificial intelligence also uses data sharing to support health professionals in improving operations such as triage and treatment.

Pedro Marques, data domain coordinator, SPMS: “We help in the decision-making process for both doctors and users, for any pathologies they may have that are easier to detect with these artificial intelligence mechanisms.”

In Germany, digital health is making headway with an app system called DIGA, designed for patient therapy.

At this clinic in Bottrop, in the northwest of the country, doctors prescribe apps just as they do medications to help patients better manage their health.

Users can download them to their smartphone, tablet or computer, and the cost of the app is even reimbursed by the national health care system. The apps cover a range of pathologies and conditions, from cancer to cardiovascular disease, chronic migraines and depression.

Sami Gaber, physician, Gaber Medical Center: “If you think of specific examples, such as migraines, weight loss or conditions with tinnitus, you can benefit from getting support outside the doctor’s office. Not only when it comes to documentation, but also for getting help when a health problem escalates so that the patient is not left alone outside the doctor’s office.”

Creating a European health data space could change medicine as we know it. European countries have already begun consultations to harmonize rules and standards and ensure the security of patients’ medical data. This will mark the beginning of a new era of cooperation among EU member states.