The aim of the EHDS is to create an IT infrastructure making it possible to access and use health data for research, healthcare, and innovation across the EU. Yet, to unleash the full potential of sharing and using health data across the EU, an infrastructure is needed.

This has inspired the European Commission to launch EHDS: a data sharing framework establishing clear rules and common standards for data security, data quality, and legal requirements for the use of electronic health data. In doing so, the aim is to enable researchers, health professionals, and others to search and apply for health data from several EU member states at once in a single application.

When fully implemented, the EHDS will benefit both:

• Individuals
• Health professionals
• Researchers
• Regulators
• The industry

CONNECT is one of the Danish contributors to the EHDS2 pilot together with the Danish Health Data Authority. In the two-year pilot, ending in September 2024, 17 collaborators from across the EU is building a test version of the EHDS infrastructure.

The EHDS2 pilot will bring together EU agencies, national data permit authorities, and health research and public health infrastructures to enable linking and integration of data between data sources and across borders. The pilot is thus a major first step in the validation and implementation of the EHDS concept.

The European Commission has selected five use cases and nine work packages in the pilot to test the potential effects of the EHDS. Denmark contributes to the four use cases listed below:

1. Foster a better understanding of the risks of thrombosis in COVID-19 patients
2. Compare COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and hospitalization between the general population and vulnerable groups (CONNECT is the Danish contributor to this use case)
3. Compare care pathways for cardiometabolic diseases in European countries and build prediction models, using artificial intelligence
4. Mobilize and chain clinical and genomic data to enhance our understanding of colorectal cancer (CONNECT is the Danish contributor to this use case).

The nine work packages focuses on the coordination and communication of the project as well as the technical aspects; e.g., IT, legal compliance, data quality, etc. The work packages are led by different partners, and CONNECT is the co-lead of two work packages:

• WP4 developing recommendations for being an EHDS node
• WP9 coordinating the implementation of the use cases.
  DANSK SIDE:

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.