Agreement on European Health Data Space Regulation: European Health Data Space makes travelling safer for EU citizen’s health

Our citizens should always be able to benefit from the best medical treatment when travelling or living abroad in Europe. Wouldn't it therefore be reassuring if patients were assured of medical care tailored to their needs during an emergency visit to a doctor or hospital throughout Europe? Making health data, with the patient’s permission, accessible to all health professionals in the EU could be the way to achieve that goal.

The Renew Europe group therefore welcomes today's agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the creation of a European Health Data Space. Its establishment means a real leap forward in improving healthcare for every patient. The breakthrough benefit of a functioning European Health Data Space is that the primary use of digitized health data will enable patients to access and control their health data, and to give healthcare professionals access to this data. In this way, citizens benefit from enhancing healthcare in a cross-border context throughout the European Union.

The secondary use and availability of medical data across the EU will also provide an additional boost to scientific medical research and progress, as access to existing data accelerates the pace of breakthrough scientific research and medical treatments.

MEP Lucia Duris Nicholsonova (Slovakia), Renew Europe LIBE shadow rapporteur said:

‘Today’s agreement on the European Health Data Space marks a new era for the healthcare sector. On the one hand, it will enable the improvement of patient healthcare in both domestic and cross-border cases, on the other hand, it will contribute to medical progress in research, innovation or better policy making. In practice, this will lead to significantly easier mobility of patients and the era of carrying stacks of paper from one doctor’s office to another will end. It will facilitate and make research and development in the health field more efficient and accessible, which in turn should translate into the improvement of services and better availability of treatment for all patients.

MEP Susana Solis Pérez (Ciudadanos, Spain), Renew Europe ENVI shadow rapporteur said on the agreement reached:

“The European Health Data Space (EHDS) is a new tool to help people use their health information more easily for their care and for science. It will make it possible for everyone to get to their own health data no matter where they are in Europe. This means doctors can help you better, and scientists can use the information (without knowing it's yours) to make new discoveries for public health. The big goal is to improve how we get medical care and to make new treatments or tools for health. The EHDS will make sure that your information is safe and that you are in charge of who gets to see it because we are leaders in healthcare, privacy and innovation.”