This workshop brings together policy, research and industry voices to tackle a practical question: once EHDS enables access to health data, what does it actually take to make that data usable for research, innovation and product development?
Building on discussions initiated at the IHE-Europe Connectathon 2025 in Vienna (report here), this session continues the conversation on the operational layer of secondary use of health data under EHDS. The workshop will focus on practical aspects such as data preparation, secure processing environments, federated analysis, and the interaction between data holders and data users in real-world secondary use scenarios. Rather than revisiting the legal framework, the aim is to explore the technical and organisational practices needed to enable effective and scalable use of health data for research, innovation, and policy. We particularly welcome contributions from data users — including vendors, innovators, and researchers — who face practical challenges when accessing, preparing, and analysing health data for secondary use.
Confirmed contributors include:
- Irini Kessissoglou (Policy Officer, DG SANTE, European Commission),
- Fidelia Cascini (Chair, EHDS Secondary Use Community of Practice)
- Stefan Sauermann (IHE Austria/Technikum Wien),
- Sofia Peltola (TEHDAS2, Sitra)
- Nienke Schutte (Head of Innovation in Health Information Systems, Sciensano)
- Tim Jongen (Vice President Clinical and Regulatory Solutions, Medtronic)
The session will be moderated by Dmitry Etin, Health Data Governance and Interoperability Expert.
Morning Panel – Setting the Scene 26/03/2026, 11.15 CET
During the IHE-Europe Experience Days, a dedicated panel will introduce the key themes that will be explored in depth during the afternoon workshop on interoperability and EHDS secondary use.
EHDS defines the governance and access framework for secondary use of health data, yet the operational layer — data preparation, processing environments, analytical portability — remains open. This panel examines whether that space should be filled by additional standards, or by use case-driven Good Data Practice: community-owned, bottom-up convergence around what works in specific research and innovation contexts. The discussion will probe where normative harmonisation is genuinely needed, where community best practice is sufficient, and where vendors and innovators need room to compete and differentiate.The panel sets the stage for the afternoon workshop where participants can engage in depth on these themes.
Panelists include:
- Irini Kissisouglu (Policy Officer, DG SANTE, European Commission),
- Fidelia Cascini (Chair, EHDS Secondary Use Community of Practice),
- Sofia Peltola (TEHDAS2, Sitra) and
- Nienke Schutte (Head of Innovation in Health Information Systems, Sciensano).
- Tim Jongen (Vice President Clinical and Regulatory Solutions, Medtronic)
The panel is moderated by Dmitry Etin, Health Data Governance and Interoperability Expert.
13/02/2026
Webinar - Interoperability in EHDS Secondary Use
This session has shared insights from recent community work, collaborative discussions, and upcoming steps toward continued coordination.
Speakers:
- Dmitry Etin: Health Data Interoperability & Governance Advisor, Austria
- Fidelia Cascini: Chair of the EHDS2 Community of Practice
- Stefan Sauermann: Vice Rector UAS Technikum Wien, IHE Austria Founding Member
