Published on 18.05.2022 18.05.2022

TEHDAS develops data quality recommendations

Data quality is a prerequisite for the reliable secondary use of data in research, regulation and policymaking. TEHDAS has developed recommendations for ensuring data quality.

The recent report of the joint action Towards the European Health Data Space (TEHDAS) presents recommendations for ensuring data quality in the European health data space (EHDS) for secondary use. The purpose of this data quality framework is to ensure that health data collected across Europe and reused for policy-making, regulation and research is reliable enough and fit for purpose.

The main recommendations concerning the EHDS data quality framework include:

• The adoption of a working definition of data quality that focuses on how well data reflects the reality it represents and whether data is fit for purpose.
  
• The reliability, relevance, timeliness, coherence, coverage and completeness should be adopted as measurable dimensions of data quality and assessed for data quality improvements.
  
• Promoting transparency throughout EHDS with regular audits and clear data processing procedures.
  
• The obligation for data holders in EHDS to publish their data preparation procedures, as well as metadata about their collections.

The report also emphasises that it is essential to develop benchmarking and continuous improvement processes to assist different data actors to align with the EU-wide approach to measuring data quality.

The recommendations are a result of various activities, including thematic workshops and partner meetings, analysis of existing data sharing initiatives and a scoping literature review. The work is continuing in 2022 with a report on interoperability, which will be included within the present report.

The report has been approved by the project steering group. The European Commission gives final approval to all joint action’s deliverables.