What is the European Health Data Space?

The European Health Data Space, or EHDS, is an EU framework that sets common rules for using electronic health data. It has two strands. Primary use covers giving individuals control over their own health records and enabling those records to be shared across borders for care through interoperable electronic health record systems. Secondary use covers making health data available, under strict governance and safeguards, for research, innovation, policy making, and regulatory activities through health data access bodies. The EHDS complements the General Data Protection Regulation rather than replacing it, and it introduces requirements for electronic health record systems and data holders. It is one of the central building blocks of the EU's wider strategy for a single market in data and for digital health.