EHDS: Transforming the role of technological platforms for health data analysis

The European Health Data Space (EHDS) is on the way to transform health data governance in Europe, including for secondary use such as research. Among the novelties introduced in the EHDS is labelling of data for improved interoperability and how access should, as a main principle, only be granted to health data in an anonymised format to ensure security. Such an access should furthermore be granted via secure processing environments (SPEs) and in accordance with data permit from a health data access body, which shall be established in each of the member states. Prior to the EHDS, various software solutions had been developed with the aim of facilitating science while protecting natural persons’ rights. DataShield (Data Aggregation Through Anonymous Summary-statistics from Harmonised Individual-level Databases) is one of these solutions. This chapter explores selected aspects of the EHDS requirements in light of such already established technological platforms, using DataShield as an example. The output of this chapter shows how already established technological platforms, which have been considered sufficiently protective of individuals’ privacy, may complement the aims of the EHDS to facilitate scientific research with health data.