TEHDAS proposes European Health Data Space services
Building the European Health Data Space requires policy proposals on data governance for instance plus practical guidelines for using data for secondary purposes, including how to ensure data security. TEHDAS has now described specific technical services that will support the previously identified EHDS user journey, enabling the secondary use of health data.
The recent report of the joint action Towards the European Health Data Space (TEHDAS) proposes services that the upcoming European Health Data Space could provide. These services have been designated for each step of the user journey for cross-border health data sharing.
Earlier, TEHDAS identified seven phases in the user journey, from finding the right data to publishing the results of its use.
The services for data preparation, for example, involve retrieval, integration, and anonymisation and pseudonymisation.
Data retrieval is a service for copying, moving or linking data from its original location so as to access it.
Data integration is a service to combine data from multiple sources to be made available as a single coherent dataset, if possible. This includes harmonising clinical coding systems. Clinical coding translates terminology used in healthcare into a coded form.
Data anonymisation and pseudonymisation is a service to perform the required modifications to the data to guarantee the privacy of the data subjects, individuals whose data is being used according to legal frameworks.
The report also recognises services that are not directly related to a given phase of the user journey but are needed for the proper functioning of the European Health Data Space.
These include a service that allows the use of health data donated by individuals, services to maintain the network of organisations proving data access, and services to build awareness and communicate about the European Health Data Space.
TEHDAS work package 7 will continue to work on the services and infrastructure of the EHDS and deliver a final report in spring 2022.
Share away!