The European Health Data Space Regulation went into force last month and over the coming years will require national European healthcare systems to increasingly process and transfer health data according to common specifications, to enable interoperability across and within Member States. Developing these specifications will require a significant effort and collaboration of the Commission and Member States with Standards developing organisations, working with healthcare organisations, industry, stakeholders and technical experts. Among the EHDS regulation’s six priority categories of health data will be data from laboratory systems, which enable diagnostic decisions and help healthcare professionals and patients manage chronic conditions.

In our HL7 Europe “Labs-on-FHIR” webinar series, we looked this month at the experience of Spain. With its 18 regional healthcare systems, the experience of Spain in connecting diverse healthcare systems may offer some instructive lessons for the rest of Europe. With more than 90 percent of its citizens having access to their patient summaries, Spain is among the more digitally advanced EU Member States. Spain also played a significant role in shaping the EHDS regulation to ensure its provisions are realistic and manageable for providers and manufacturers during its Presidency of the EU Council.

Featured speaker was Dr. Alexander Zlotnik from the Directorate of Digital Health and Information Systems in the Spanish Ministry of Health. He shared an overview of the Spanish healthcare system, discussed the history and status of laboratory systems’ interoperability within Spain and with Europe, and reflected on the EHDS regulation’s development and implementation. As usual, there was a panel of experts, and plenty of time for audience Q&A.

Panellists included:

• Catherine Chronaki, HL7 Europe
• Alexander Henket, NICTIZ (NL)
• Nikos Kyriakoulakos, HL7 Hellas

See also the presentation slides here.

The webinar was facilitated by Michael Strübin from HL7 Europe.

The HL7 International Working Group Meeting (WGM) & HL7 FHIR Connectathon is coming up on 10-16 May 2025. This time, it will take place in Madrid, Spain, an opportunity for European participants to be part of this exciting meeting close to home. While the WGM (including countless sessions on standards and education, and of course the Connectathon) will be global in scope, there will be activities that are driven and lead by HL7 Europe, and may be of special interest to participants in Europe.

Come and join us for this webinar to get an overview of the Madrid WGM activities that focus on Europe. Speakers include:

• Giorgio Cangioli, HL7 Europe and co-leader of the EHDS Connectathon track
• Kai Heitmann, HL7 Europe, co-leader of the national EHDS implementation session
• Roberta Gazzarata, HL7 Europe, co-leader of the European cancer data model session
• Stefano Dalmiani, Hospitals-on-FHIR session-leader

See also the presentation slides here.

The webinar will be facilitated by Michael Strübin, HL7 Europe Communications Advisor.

The European Health Data Space has just been signed and will become effective in two years. It will advance the adoption of international standards to advance healthcare interoperability, to improve healthcare for European citizens and to aggregate data for research and innovation. Data from laboratory systems deliver the basis for diagnostic decisions, help patients manage chronic conditions, and make our healthcare systems more effective and efficient, if it can be delivered where and when it is needed. That’s why interoperability is needed.

In our HL7 Europe “Labs-on-FHIR” webinar series, we were looking at the experience in Sweden on their journey to implement FHIR in laboratory systems, navigating legacy systems and stakeholder engagement, and working in a complex political environment. This follows webinars in 2024 with focus on Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Germany (all slides and recordings can be found at www.hl7.tv).

Featured speaker was Daniel Karlsson from the Swedish eHealth Agency E-hälsomyndigheten which coordinates the government's e-health initiatives, and Gunnar Nordin from Equalis, a Swedish company that assesses the quality of lab results and manages the NPU terminology system for Swedish laboratories. There will be a panel of experts, and plenty of time for audience Q&A.

Panellists included:

• Sylvia Thun, Charité Hospital Berlin and chair of HL7 Germany
• Jean-Michel Polfliet, eHealth Platform Belgium
• Giorgio Cangioli, HL7 Europe

See also the presentation slides here.

The webinar was facilitated by Michael Strübin, HL7 Europe Communications Advisor.

HL7 Europe will hold its Working Group Meeting 10-14 February 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal. Join us in this webinar for latest updates regarding the agenda, the meetings and the EU-a-thon, as well as extra events, practicalities, and opportunities to join and contribute.

Hosted by Michael Strübin, HL7 Europe, our featured speakers are:

• Kai Heitmann, HL7 Europe
• Giorgio Cangioli, HL7 Europe
• Rhonda Facile, HL7 Europe

Speakers will highlight different parts of the WGM and how to register. There will be time for Q&A.

See also the presentation slides here. For persons new to HL7, there is also a short brochure about HL7 as a standard and HL7 International, HL7 Europe, the Eu-a-thon and our community events.