The HealthData@EU Pilot project was launched to build and test the infrastructure needed for secure and seamless data exchange between Member States, enabling the secondary use of health data in alignment with EHDS requirements. This pilot laid the groundwork for the HealthData@EU infrastructure, designed to connect National Contact Points (NCPs) to a central platform, fostering harmonised data flows across Europe.
D5.1 Architecture Definition Document outlines a comprehensive vision for the HealthData@EU infrastructure. It focuses on the architecture of national components, selected standards, and core technological building blocks. The design is guided by three key principles:
- Scalability: Build a distributed network that can easily onboard new contact points or host new use cases.
- Open Source Technologies: Leverage transparent and community-driven technologies.
- Safety: Propose a robust security-oriented solution.
The infrastructure employs the eDelivery protocol, an EU CEF building block, to facilitate secure, standardised digital data exchange between nodes, ensuring alignment with broader EU interoperability and security standards.
Recognising the diversity of information systems across NCPs and use cases, the infrastructure’s high-level architecture features three core components: [image]:
- Cross Border Gateway: Responsible for eDelivery communication with Contact Points and the Central Services.
- National Connector: Provides all necessary features to fulfil EHDS regulatory requirements for each step of the user journey.
- Cross Border Engines: Extend the functionalities of existing information systems to meet the new use cases defined by the regulation.
The infrastructure supports two primary use cases:
- Data Discovery: Enables National Contact Points (NCPs) of the network to send dataset descriptions (or metadata) to the central platform, which federates these received dataset descriptions into a unified European catalogue—the EU dataset catalogue. [image]
- Data Permit: Allows NCPs to receive data access applications for the datasets they are responsible for from data applicants. The applications are filled in through the European central portal. [image]
By addressing interoperability, privacy, and standardisation, the HealthData@EU Pilot project has created a scalable, secure, and future-ready infrastructure for advancing health data exchange across Europe.
