Article 1 Subject matter and scope
1. This Regulation establishes the European Health Data Space (EHDS) by providing for common rules, standards and infrastructures and a governance framework, with a view to facilitating access to electronic health data for the purposes of primary use of electronic health data and secondary use of those data. 2. This Regulation: (a) specifies and complements the rights laid down in Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of natural persons in relation to the primary use and secondary use of their personal electronic health data; (b) lays down common rules for electronic health record systems (‘EHR systems’) in relation to two mandatory harmonised software components, namely the European interoperability software component for EHR systems and the European logging software component for EHR systems, as defined in Article 2(2), points (n) and (o), respectively, and for wellness applications which are claimed to be interoperable with EHR systems in relation to those two harmonised software components, as regards primary use of electronic health data; (c) lays down common rules and mechanisms for primary use of electronic health data and secondary use of electronic health data; (d) establishes a cross-border infrastructure enabling the primary use of personal electronic health data across the Union; (e) establishes a cross-border infrastructure for secondary use of electronic health data; (f) establishes governance and coordination mechanisms at Union and national level for both primary use of electronic health data and secondary use of electronic health data. 3. This Regulation shall be without prejudice to other Union legal acts regarding access to, and sharing of or secondary use of, electronic health data, or Union requirements related to the processing of data in relation to electronic health data, in particular Regulations (EC) No 223/2009 ( 24 ) , (EU) No 536/2014 ( 25 ) , (EU) 2016/679, (EU) 2018/1725, (EU) 2022/868 and (EU) 2023/2854 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directives 2002/58/EC ( 26 ) and (EU) 2016/943 ( 27 ) of the European Parliament and of the Council. 4. References in this Regulation to the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall be understood also as references to the corresponding provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, where relevant, as regards Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. 5. This Regulation shall be without prejudice to Regulations (EU) 2017/745, (EU) 2017/746 and (EU) 2024/1689, as regards the security of medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices and artificial intelligence (AI) systems that interact with EHR systems. 6. This Regulation shall be without prejudice to Union or national law regarding electronic health data processing for the purposes of reporting, complying with access to information requests or demonstrating or verifying compliance with legal obligations, or to Union or national law regarding the granting of access to and disclosure of official documents. 7. This Regulation shall be without prejudice to specific provisions in Union or national law providing for access to electronic health data for further processing by Member States’ public sector bodies, by Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, or by private entities entrusted under Union or national law with a task of public interest, for the purpose of carrying out such task. 8. This Regulation shall not affect access to electronic health data for secondary use agreed in the framework of contractual or administrative arrangements between public or private entities. 9. This Regulation does not apply to the processing of personal data in the following cases: (a) where the processing is carried out in the course of an activity which falls outside the scope of Union law; (b) where the processing is carried out by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public security.
Article 2 Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: (a) the definitions of ‘personal data’, ‘processing’, ‘pseudonymisation’, ‘controller’, ‘processor’, ‘third party’, ‘consent’, ‘genetic data’, ‘data concerning health’ and ‘international organisation’ laid down in Article 4, points (1), (2), (5), (7), (8), (10), (11), (13), (15) and (26), respectively, of Regulation (EU) 2016/679; (b) the definitions of ‘healthcare’, ‘Member State of affiliation’, ‘Member State of treatment’, ‘health professional’, ‘healthcare provider’, ‘medicinal product’ and ‘prescription’ laid down in Article 3, points (a), (c), (d), (f), (g), (i) and (k), respectively, of Directive 2011/24/EU; (c) the definitions of ‘data’, ‘access’, ‘data altruism’, ‘public sector body’ and ‘secure processing environment’ laid down in Article 2, points (1), (13), (16), (17) and (20), respectively, of Regulation (EU) 2022/868; (d) the definitions of ‘making available on the market’, ‘placing on the market’, ‘market surveillance’, ‘market surveillance authority’, ‘non-compliance’, ‘manufacturer’, ‘importer’, ‘distributor’, ‘economic operator’, ‘corrective action’, ‘recall’ and ‘withdrawal’ laid down in Article 3, points (1), (2), (3), (4), (7), (8), (9), (10), (13), (16), (22) and (23), respectively, of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020; (e) the definitions of ‘medical device’, ‘intended purpose’, ‘instructions for use’, ‘performance’, ‘health institution’ and ‘common specifications’ laid down in Article 2, points (1), (12), (14), (22), (36) and (71), respectively, of Regulation (EU) 2017/745; (f) the definitions of ‘electronic identification’ and ‘electronic identification means’ laid down in Article 3, points (1) and (2), respectively, of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014; (g) the definition of ‘contracting authorities’ laid down in Article 2(1), point (1), of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 28 ) ; (h) the definition of ‘public health’ laid down in Article 3, point (c), of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 29 ) . 2. In addition, for the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions apply: (a) ‘personal electronic health data’ means data concerning health and genetic data, processed in an electronic form; (b) ‘non-personal electronic health data’ means electronic health data other than personal electronic health data, including both data that have been anonymised so that they no longer relate to an identified or identifiable natural person (the ‘data subject’) and data that have never related to a data subject; (c) ‘electronic health data’ means personal or non-personal electronic health data; (d) ‘primary use’ means the processing of electronic health data for the provision of healthcare, in order to assess, maintain or restore the state of health of the natural person to whom those data relate, including the prescription, dispensation and provision of medicinal products and medical devices, as well as for relevant social, administrative or reimbursement services; (e) ‘secondary use’ means the processing of electronic health data for the purposes set out in Chapter IV of this Regulation, other than the initial purposes for which they were collected or produced; (f) ‘interoperability’ means the ability of organisations, as well as of software applications or devices from the same manufacturer or different manufacturers, to interact through the processes they support, involving the exchange of information and knowledge, without changing the content of the data, between those organisations, software applications or devices; (g) ‘registration of electronic health data’ means the recording of health data in an electronic format, through the manual entry of such data, through the collection of such data by a device, or through the conversion of non-electronic health data into an electronic format, to be processed in an EHR system or a wellness application; (h) ‘electronic health data access service’ means an online service, such as a portal or an application for mobile devices, that enables natural persons not acting in a professional capacity to access their own electronic health data or the electronic health data of those natural persons whose electronic health data they are legally authorised to access; (i) ‘health professional access service’ means a service, supported by an EHR system, that enables health professionals to access data of natural persons under their treatment; (j) ‘electronic health record’ or ‘EHR’ means a collection of electronic health data related to a natural person and collected in the health system, processed for the purpose of the provision of healthcare; (k) ‘electronic health record system’ or ‘EHR system’ means any system whereby the software, or a combination of the hardware and the software of that system, allows personal electronic health data that belong to the priority categories of personal electronic health data established under this Regulation to be stored, intermediated, exported, imported, converted, edited or viewed, and intended by the manufacturer to be used by healthcare providers when providing patient care or by patients when accessing their electronic health data; (l) ‘putting into service’ means the first use, for its intended purpose, in the Union of an EHR system covered by this Regulation; (m) ‘software component’ means a discrete part of software which provides a specific functionality or performs specific functions or procedures and which can operate independently or in conjunction with other components; (n) ‘European interoperability software component for EHR systems’ means a software component of the EHR system which provides and receives personal electronic health data under a priority category for primary use established under this Regulation in the European electronic health record exchange format provided for in this Regulation and which is independent of the European logging software component for EHR systems; (o) ‘European logging software component for EHR systems’ means a software component of the EHR system which provides logging information related to access by health professionals or other individuals to priority categories of personal electronic health data established under this Regulation, in the format defined in point 3.2. of Annex II thereto, and which is independent of the European interoperability software component for EHR systems; (p) ‘CE marking of conformity’ means a marking by which the manufacturer indicates that the EHR system is in conformity with the applicable requirements set out in this Regulation and other applicable Union law providing for its affixing pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 30 ) ; (q) ‘risk’ means the combination of the probability of an occurrence of a hazard causing harm to health, safety or information security and the degree of severity of such harm; (r) ‘serious incident’ means any malfunction or deterioration in the characteristics or performance of an EHR system made available on the market that directly or indirectly leads, might have led or might lead to any of the following: (i) the death of a natural person or serious harm to a natural person’s health; (ii) serious prejudice to a natural person’s rights; (iii) serious disruption of the management and operation of critical infrastructure in the health sector; (s) ‘care’ means a professional service the purpose of which is to address the specific needs of a natural person who, on account of impairment or other physical or mental conditions, requires assistance, including preventive and supportive measures, to carry out essential activities of daily living in order to support his or her personal autonomy; (t) ‘health data holder’ means any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body in the healthcare or the care sectors, including reimbursement services where necessary, as well as any natural or legal person developing products or services intended for the health, healthcare or care sectors, developing or manufacturing wellness applications, performing research in relation to the healthcare or care sectors or acting as a mortality registry, as well as any Union institution, body, office or agency, that has either: (i) the right or obligation, in accordance with applicable Union or national law and in its capacity as a controller or joint controller, to process personal electronic health data for the provision of healthcare or care or for the purposes of public health, reimbursement, research, innovation, policymaking, official statistics or patient safety or for regulatory purposes; or (ii) the ability to make available non-personal electronic health data through the control of the technical design of a product and related services, including by registering, providing, restricting access to or exchanging such data; (u) ‘health data user’ means a natural or legal person, including Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, which has been granted lawful access to electronic health data for secondary use pursuant to a data permit, a health data request approval or an access approval by an authorised participant in HealthData@EU; (v) ‘data permit’ means an administrative decision issued to a health data user by a health data access body to process certain electronic health data specified in the data permit for specific secondary use purposes, based on conditions laid down in Chapter IV of this Regulation; (w) ‘dataset’ means a structured collection of electronic health data; (x) ‘dataset of high impact for secondary use’ means a dataset the re-use of which is associated with significant benefits due to its relevance for health research; (y) ‘dataset catalogue’ means a collection of dataset descriptions, arranged in a systematic manner and including a user-oriented public part, in which information concerning individual dataset parameters is accessible by electronic means through an online portal; (z) ‘data quality’ means the degree to which the elements of electronic health data are suitable for their intended primary use and secondary use; (aa) ‘data quality and utility label’ means a graphic diagram, including a scale, describing the data quality and conditions of use of a dataset; (ab) ‘wellness application’ means any software, or any combination of hardware and software, intended by the manufacturer to be used by a natural person, for the processing of electronic health data, specifically for providing information on the health of natural persons, or the delivery of care for purposes other than the provision of healthcare.
Article 3 Right of natural persons to access their personal electronic health data
1. Natural persons shall have the right to access at least personal electronic health data relating to them that belong to the priority categories referred to in Article 14 and are processed for the provision of healthcare through the electronic health data access services referred to in Article 4. Access shall be provided immediately after the personal electronic health data have been registered in an EHR system, while respecting the need for technological practicability, and shall be provided free of charge and in an easily readable, consolidated and accessible format. 2. Natural persons, or their representatives referred to in Article 4(2), shall have the right to download free of charge an electronic copy of at least the personal electronic health data in the priority categories referred to in Article 14 related to those natural persons, through the electronic health data access services referred to in Article 4, in the European electronic health record exchange format referred to in Article 15. 3. In accordance with Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Member States may restrict the scope of rights provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, in particular whenever those restrictions are necessary to protect natural persons, on the basis of patient safety and ethical considerations by delaying access to their personal electronic health data for a limited period of time until a health professional is able to properly communicate and explain to the natural persons concerned information that can have a significant impact on their health.
Article 4 Electronic health data access services for natural persons and their representatives
1. Member States shall ensure that one or more electronic health data access services at national, regional or local level are established, thereby enabling natural persons to access their personal electronic health data and exercise their rights provided for in Articles 3 and 5 to 10. Such electronic health data access services shall be free of charge for the natural persons and their representatives referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. 2. Member States shall ensure that one or more proxy services are established as a functionality of electronic health data access services which enables: (a) natural persons to authorise other natural persons of their choice to access their personal electronic health data, or part thereof, on their behalf for a limited or unlimited period and, if needed, for a specific purpose only, and to manage those authorisations; and (b) legal representatives of natural persons to access personal electronic health data of those natural persons whose affairs they administer, in accordance with national law. Member States shall establish rules regarding the authorisations referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph and actions of guardians and other legal representatives. 3. The proxy services referred to in paragraph 2 shall provide authorisations in a transparent and easily understandable way, free of charge, and electronically or on paper. Natural persons and their representatives shall be informed about their authorisation rights, including about how to exercise those rights, and about the authorisation process. The proxy services shall provide an easy complaint mechanism for natural persons. 4. The proxy services referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be interoperable among Member States. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, lay down the technical specifications for the interoperability of the proxy services of the Member States. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 5. The electronic health data access services and the proxy services shall be easily accessible for persons with disabilities, vulnerable groups and persons with low digital literacy.
Article 5 Right of natural persons to insert information in their own EHR
Natural persons, or their representatives referred to in Article 4(2), shall have the right to insert information in the EHR of those natural persons through electronic health data access services or applications linked to those services as referred to in that Article. That information shall be clearly distinguishable as having been inserted by the natural person or by his or her representative. Natural persons, or their representatives referred to in Article 4(2), shall not be able to directly alter the electronic health data and related information inserted by health professionals.
Article 6 Right of natural persons to rectification
Electronic health data access services referred to in Article 4 shall enable natural persons to easily request online the rectification of their personal electronic health data in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Where appropriate, the controller shall verify with a relevant health professional the accuracy of the information provided in the request. Member States may also enable natural persons to exercise online other rights pursuant to Chapter III of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 through electronic health data access services.
Article 7 Right to data portability for natural persons
1. Natural persons shall have the right to give access to, or to request a healthcare provider to transmit, all or part of their personal electronic health data to another healthcare provider of their choice immediately, free of charge and without hindrance from the healthcare provider or from the manufacturers of the systems used by that healthcare provider. 2. Natural persons shall have the right, where the healthcare providers are located in different Member States, to request the transmission of their personal electronic health data in the European electronic health record exchange format referred to in Article 15 through the cross-border infrastructure referred to in Article 23. The receiving healthcare provider shall accept such data and shall be able to read them. 3. Natural persons shall have the right to request a healthcare provider to transmit a part of their personal electronic health data to a clearly identified recipient in the social security or reimbursement services sector. Such transmission shall be carried out immediately, free of charge and without hindrance from the healthcare provider or from the manufacturers of the systems used by that healthcare provider, and shall be one-way only. 4. Where natural persons have downloaded an electronic copy of their priority categories of personal electronic health data in accordance with Article 3(2), they shall be able to transmit those data to healthcare providers of their choice in the European electronic health record exchange format referred to in Article 15. The receiving healthcare provider shall accept such data and be able to read them, as applicable.
Article 8 Right to restrict access
Natural persons shall have the right to restrict the access of health professionals and healthcare providers to all or parts of their personal electronic health data as referred to in Article 3. When exercising the right referred to in the first paragraph, natural persons shall be made aware that restricting access might impact the provision of healthcare to them. The fact that a natural person has restricted access under the first paragraph shall not be visible to healthcare providers. Member States shall establish the rules and specific safeguards regarding such restriction mechanisms.
Article 9 Right to obtain information on accessing data
1. Natural persons shall have the right to obtain information, including through automatic notifications, on any access to their personal electronic health data through the health professional access service obtained in the context of healthcare, including access provided in accordance with Article 11(5). 2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be provided, free of charge and without delay, through electronic health data access services and shall be available for at least three years from each date of access to the data. That information shall include at least the following: (a) information on the healthcare provider or other individuals who accessed the personal electronic health data; (b) the date and time of access; (c) which personal electronic health data were accessed. 3. Member States may provide for restrictions to the right referred to in paragraph 1 in exceptional circumstances, where there are factual indications that disclosure would endanger the vital interests or rights of the health professional or the care of the natural person.
Article 10 Right of natural persons to opt out in primary use
1. Member States’ laws may provide that natural persons have the right to opt out from the access to their personal electronic health data registered in an EHR system through the electronic health data access services referred to in Articles 4 and 12. In such cases, Member States shall ensure that the exercise of that right is reversible. 2. If a Member State provides for a right referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall establish the rules and specific safeguards regarding the opt-out mechanism. In particular, Member States may provide for a healthcare provider or health professional to be able to get access to the personal electronic health data in cases where processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person as referred to in Article 9(2), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, even if the patient has exercised the right to opt out in primary use.
Article 11 Access by health professionals to personal electronic health data
1. Where health professionals process data in an electronic format, they shall have access to the relevant and necessary personal electronic health data of natural persons under their treatment through the health professional access services referred to in Article 12, irrespective of the Member State of affiliation and the Member State of treatment. 2. Where the Member State of affiliation of the natural person under treatment and the Member State of treatment of such natural person differ, cross-border access to the personal electronic health data of the natural person under treatment shall be provided through the cross-border infrastructure referred to in Article 23. 3. The access referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall include at least the priority categories of personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14. In line with the principles provided for in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Member States shall establish rules providing for the categories of personal electronic health data accessible by different categories of health professionals or for different healthcare tasks. Such rules shall take into account the possibility of restrictions imposed under Article 8 of this Regulation. 4. In the case of treatment in a Member State other than the Member State of affiliation, the rules referred to in paragraph 3 shall be those of the Member State of treatment. 5. Where access to personal electronic health data has been restricted by a natural person pursuant to Article 8, the healthcare provider or health professional shall not be informed of the restricted content of those data. By way of derogation from the first paragraph of Article 8, where necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject, the healthcare provider or health professional may be granted access to the restricted electronic health data. Such cases shall be logged in a clear and understandable format and shall be easily accessible for the data subject. Member States may provide for additional safeguards.
Article 12 Health professional access services
For the provision of healthcare, Member States shall ensure that health professionals are able to access free of charge the priority categories of personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14, including for cross-border care, through health professional access services. The services referred to in the first paragraph of this Article shall be accessible only to health professionals who are in possession of electronic identification means which are recognised pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 or other electronic identification means compliant with common specifications referred to in Article 36 of this Regulation. Personal electronic health data shall be presented in a user-friendly manner in the electronic health records to allow for easy use by health professionals.
Article 13 Registration of personal electronic health data
1. Member States shall ensure that, where electronic health data are processed for the provision of healthcare, healthcare providers register the relevant personal electronic health data falling fully or partially under at least the priority categories of personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14 in an electronic format in an EHR system. 2. When processing data in an electronic format, healthcare providers shall ensure that the personal electronic health data of the natural persons under their treatment are updated with information related to the healthcare. 3. Where personal electronic health data are registered in a Member State of treatment that differs from the Member State of affiliation of the natural person concerned, the Member State of treatment shall ensure that the registration is performed under the identification data of the natural person in the Member State of affiliation. 4. By 26 March 2027, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, determine data quality requirements, including in relation to semantics, uniformity, consistency, accuracy and completeness, for the registration of personal electronic health data in an EHR system as relevant. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). When personal electronic health data are registered or updated, the electronic health records shall identify the health professional and healthcare provider that carried out such registration or update, and the time at which such registration or update was carried out. Member States may require other aspects of data registration to be recorded.
Article 14 Priority categories of personal electronic health data for primary use
1. For the purposes of this Chapter, where data are processed in electronic format the priority categories of personal electronic health data shall be the following: (a) patient summaries; (b) electronic prescriptions; (c) electronic dispensations; (d) medical imaging studies and related imaging reports; (e) medical test results, including laboratory and other diagnostic results and related reports; and (f) discharge reports. The main characteristics of the priority categories of personal electronic health data for primary use shall be as set out in Annex I. Member States may provide in their national law for additional categories of personal electronic health data to be accessed and exchanged for primary use pursuant to this Chapter. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, lay down cross-border specifications for the categories of personal electronic health data referred to in the third subparagraph of this paragraph pursuant to Article 15(3) and Article 23(8). Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 97 to amend this Regulation by amending Annex I through the addition, modification or removal of the main characteristics of the priority categories of personal electronic health data as referred to in paragraph 1, provided that the amendments are aimed at adapting the priority categories of personal electronic health data to technical developments and international standards. Moreover, additions and modifications of those characteristics shall satisfy both of the following criteria: (a) the characteristic is relevant for healthcare provided to natural persons; (b) the characteristic is used in the majority of Member States according to the most recent information.
Article 15 European electronic health record exchange format
1. By 26 March 2027, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, lay down the technical specifications for the priority categories of personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14(1), setting out the European electronic health record exchange format. Such format shall be commonly used, machine-readable and allow transmission of personal electronic health data between different software applications, devices and healthcare providers. Such format shall support transmission of structured and unstructured health data and shall include the following elements: (a) harmonised datasets containing electronic health data and defining structures, such as data fields and data groups for the representation of clinical content and other parts of the electronic health data; (b) coding systems and values to be used in datasets containing electronic health data; (c) technical interoperability specifications for the exchange of electronic health data, including its content representation, standards and profiles. The implementing acts referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 2. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, provide regular updates of the European electronic health record exchange format to integrate relevant revisions of the healthcare coding systems and nomenclatures. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 3. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, lay down technical specifications to extend the European electronic health record exchange format to additional categories of personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14(1), third subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 4. Member States shall ensure that the priority categories of personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14 are issued in the European electronic health record exchange format referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. Where such data are transmitted by automated means for primary use, the receiving provider shall accept the format of the data and be able to read them.
Article 16 Identification management
1. Where natural persons use electronic health data access services referred to in Article 4, those natural persons shall have the right to identify themselves electronically using any electronic identification means which are recognised pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014. Member States may provide complementary mechanisms to ensure appropriate identity matching in cross-border situations. 2. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, determine the requirements for the interoperable, cross-border identification and authentication mechanism for natural persons and health professionals, in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 910/2014. That mechanism shall facilitate the transferability of personal electronic health data in a cross-border context. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 3. The Commission, in cooperation with Member States, shall implement services required by the interoperable, cross-border identification and authentication mechanism referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article at Union level, as part of the cross-border infrastructure referred to in Article 23. 4. The Member States’ competent authorities and the Commission shall implement the interoperable, cross-border identification and authentication mechanism at Member State and Union level, respectively.
Article 17 Requirements for technical implementation
The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, determine the requirements for the technical implementation of the rights set out in this Section. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2).
Article 18 Compensation for making personal electronic health data available
Providers receiving data under this Chapter shall not be required to compensate the healthcare provider for making personal electronic health data available. A healthcare provider or a third party shall not directly or indirectly charge data subjects a fee or costs, or require compensation, for sharing or accessing data.
Article 19 Digital health authorities
1. Each Member State shall designate one or more digital health authorities responsible for the implementation and enforcement of this Chapter at national level. The Member States shall inform the Commission of the identity of the digital health authorities by 26 March 2027. Where a Member State designates more than one digital health authority or where the digital health authority consists of multiple organisations, the Member State concerned shall communicate to the Commission a description of the distribution of tasks between those various authorities or organisations. Where a Member State designates several digital health authorities, it shall designate one digital health authority to act as coordinator. The Commission shall make that information publicly available. 2. Each digital health authority shall be entrusted with the following tasks and powers: (a) ensuring the implementation of the rights and obligations provided for in this Chapter and Chapter III by adopting necessary national, regional or local technical solutions and by establishing relevant rules and mechanisms; (b) ensuring that complete and up-to-date information about the implementation of rights and obligations provided for in this Chapter and Chapter III is made readily available to natural persons, health professionals and healthcare providers; (c) in the implementation of technical solutions referred to in point (a) of this paragraph, ensuring that such technical solutions comply with this Chapter, Chapter III and Annex II; (d) contributing at Union level to the development of technical solutions enabling natural persons and health professionals to exercise their rights and comply with their obligations set out in this Chapter; (e) facilitating persons with disabilities to exercise their rights under this Chapter in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 31 ) ; (f) supervising the national contact points for digital health and cooperating with other digital health authorities and the Commission on further development of MyHealth@EU; (g) ensuring the implementation at national level of the European electronic health record exchange format, in cooperation with national authorities and stakeholders; (h) contributing at Union level to the development of the European electronic health record exchange format, to the elaboration of common specifications, in accordance with Article 36, which address quality, interoperability, security, safety, ease of use, accessibility, non-discrimination or fundamental right concerns, and to the elaboration of the specifications of the EU database for registration of EHR systems and wellness applications referred to in Article 49; (i) where applicable, performing market surveillance activities in accordance with Article 43, while ensuring that any conflicts of interest are avoided; (j) building national capacity for implementing requirements concerning interoperability and security of electronic health data for primary use and participating in information exchanges and capacity building activities at Union level; (k) cooperating with market surveillance authorities, participating in the activities related to handling of risks posed by EHR systems and of serious incidents and supervising the implementation of corrective action in accordance with Article 44; (l) cooperating with other relevant entities and bodies at local, regional, national or Union level, to ensure interoperability, portability and security of electronic health data; (m) cooperating with supervisory authorities in accordance with Regulations (EU) No 910/2014 and (EU) 2016/679 and Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 32 ) and with other relevant authorities, including those competent for cybersecurity and electronic identification. 3. Each Member State shall ensure that each digital health authority is provided with the human, technical and financial resources, premises and infrastructure necessary for the effective performance of its tasks and exercise of its powers. 4. In the performance of its tasks, each digital health authority shall avoid any conflicts of interest. Each member of staff of the digital health authority shall act in the public interest and in an independent manner. 5. In the performance of their tasks, the relevant digital health authorities shall actively cooperate and consult with relevant stakeholders’ representatives, including patients’ representatives, healthcare providers and health professionals’ representatives, including health professional associations, as well as consumer organisations and industry associations.
Article 20 Reporting by digital health authorities
Digital health authorities designated pursuant to Article 19 shall publish an activity report every two years, which shall contain a comprehensive overview of their activities. If a Member State designates more than one digital health authority, one of them shall be responsible for the drawing up of the report and, in doing so, it shall request the necessary information from the other digital health authorities. That activity report shall follow a structure agreed at Union level within the European Health Data Space Board (the ‘EHDS Board’) referred to in Article 92. That activity report shall contain at least information concerning: (a) the measures taken to implement this Regulation; (b) the percentage of natural persons having access to the various data categories of their electronic health records; (c) the handling of requests from natural persons regarding the exercise of their rights pursuant to this Regulation; (d) the number of healthcare providers of different types, including pharmacies, hospitals and other points of care, connected to MyHealth@EU calculated: (i) in absolute terms; (ii) as a share of all healthcare providers of the same type; and (iii) as a share of natural persons that are able to use the services; (e) the volumes of electronic health data of different categories shared across borders through MyHealth@EU; (f) the number of cases of non-compliance with mandatory requirements.
Article 21 Right to lodge a complaint with a digital health authority
1. Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, natural and legal persons shall have the right to lodge a complaint in relation to the provisions laid down in this Chapter, individually or, where relevant, collectively, with the competent digital health authority, provided that their rights or interests are negatively affected. 2. Where the complaint concerns the rights of natural persons pursuant to Articles 3 and 5 to 10 of this Regulation, the digital health authority shall transmit the complaint to the competent supervisory authorities under Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The digital health authority shall provide the necessary information at its disposal to the competent supervisory authority under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 in order to facilitate the assessment and investigation of the complaint. 3. The competent digital health authority with which the complaint has been lodged shall inform, in accordance with national law, the complainant of the progress made in dealing with the complaint, of the decision taken on the complaint, of any referral of the complaint to the competent supervisory authority under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and, in cases of such a referral, that that supervisory authority is, from that moment on, to be the sole point of contact for the complainant in that matter. 4. Digital health authorities in the Member States concerned shall cooperate to handle and resolve complaints related to cross-border exchange of and access to personal electronic health data, including by exchanging all relevant information by electronic means, without undue delay. 5. Digital health authorities shall facilitate the submission of complaints and provide easily accessible tools for the submission of complaints.
Article 22 Relationship with supervisory authorities under Regulation (EU) 2016/679
The supervisory authority or supervisory authorities responsible for monitoring and enforcing the application of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall also be competent for monitoring and enforcing the application of Articles 3 and 5 to 10 of this Regulation. The relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall apply mutatis mutandis . Supervisory authorities shall be empowered to impose administrative fines up to the amount referred to in Article 83(5) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The supervisory authorities referred to in the first paragraph of this Article and digital health authorities referred to in Article 19 shall, where relevant, cooperate in the enforcement of this Regulation, within the remit of their respective competences.
Article 23 MyHealth@EU
1. The Commission shall establish a central interoperability platform for digital health (‘MyHealth@EU’) to provide services to support and facilitate the exchange of personal electronic health data between the national contact points for digital health of the Member States. 2. Each Member State shall designate one national contact point for digital health, as an organisational and technical gateway for the provision of services linked to the cross-border exchange of personal electronic health data in the context of primary use. Each national contact point for digital health shall be connected to all other national contact points for digital health in other Member States and to the central interoperability platform for digital health in the cross-border infrastructure MyHealth@EU. Where a national contact point for digital health is an entity consisting of multiple organisations responsible for implementing different services, the Member State concerned shall communicate to the Commission a description of the distribution of tasks between the organisations. Each Member State shall inform the Commission of the identity of its national contact point for digital health by 26 March 2027. The national contact point for digital health may be designated within the digital health authority referred to in Article 19. Member States shall inform the Commission of any subsequent modification of the identity of those national contact points for digital health. The Commission and the Member States shall make that information publicly available. 3. Each national contact point for digital health shall enable the exchange of the personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14(1) with national contact points for digital health in other Member States through MyHealth@EU. That exchange shall be based on the European electronic health record exchange format. Where Member States provide for additional categories of personal electronic health data under Article 14(1), third subparagraph, the national contact point for digital health shall enable the exchange of the additional categories of personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14(1), third subparagraph, insofar as the Member State concerned has provided for those additional categories of personal electronic health data to be accessed and exchanged in accordance with Article 14(1), third subparagraph. 4. By 26 March 2027, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt the necessary measures for the technical development of MyHealth@EU, detailed rules concerning the security, confidentiality and protection of personal electronic health data and the conditions for compliance checks necessary to join and remain connected to MyHealth@EU. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 5. Member States shall ensure the connection of all healthcare providers to their national contact points for digital health. Member States shall ensure that connected healthcare providers are able to perform two-way exchanges of electronic health data with the national contact point for digital health. 6. Member States shall ensure that pharmacies operating on their territories, including online pharmacies, are able to dispense electronic prescriptions issued in other Member States, under the conditions laid down in Article 11 of Directive 2011/24/EU. Pharmacies shall access and accept electronic prescriptions transmitted to them from other Member States through MyHealth@EU, provided that the conditions laid down in Article 11 of Directive 2011/24/EU are fulfilled. Following the dispensation of medicinal products based on an electronic prescription from another Member State, the pharmacy concerned shall report through MyHealth@EU such dispensation to the national contact point for digital health of the Member State in which that prescription was issued. 7. The national contact points for digital health shall act as joint controllers of the personal electronic health data communicated through MyHealth@EU for the processing operations in which they are involved. The Commission shall act as processor. 8. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, lay down the rules regarding the requirements of cybersecurity, technical interoperability, semantic interoperability, operations and service management in relation to the processing by the processor referred to in paragraph 7 of this Article and its responsibilities towards the controllers, in accordance with Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 9. The national contact points for digital health shall fulfil the conditions to join and to remain connected to MyHealth@EU as laid down in the implementing acts referred to in paragraph 4. The compliance of the national contact points for digital health with those conditions shall be verified by the Commission through compliance checks.
Article 24 Supplementary cross-border digital health services and infrastructures
1. Member States may provide through MyHealth@EU supplementary services that facilitate telemedicine, mobile health, access by natural persons to existing translations of their health data, exchange or verification of health-related certificates, including vaccination card services supporting public health and public health monitoring or digital health systems, services and interoperable applications, with a view to achieving a high level of trust and security, enhancing continuity of care and ensuring access to safe and high-quality healthcare. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, set out the technical aspects of such supplementary services. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 2. The Commission and Member States may facilitate the exchange of personal electronic health data with other infrastructures, such as the Clinical Patient Management System or other services or infrastructures in the health, care or social security fields which may become authorised participants in MyHealth@EU. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, set out the technical aspects of such exchanges. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). The connection and disconnection of another infrastructure to or from the central platform for digital health shall be subject to a decision of the Commission adopted by means of an implementing act, based on the result of compliance checks of the technical aspects of exchanges as referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 3. A national contact point for digital health of a third country or a system established at international level by an international organisation may become an authorised participant in MyHealth@EU, provided that it fulfils the requirements of MyHealth@EU for the purposes of the personal electronic health data exchange as referred to in Article 23, that the transfer stemming from the connection to MyHealth@EU complies with the rules in Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, and that the requirements concerning legal, organisational, operational, semantic, technical and cybersecurity measures are equivalent to those applicable to Member States in the operation of MyHealth@EU services. Those requirements shall be verified by the Commission through compliance checks. Based on the outcome of the compliance checks referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Commission may, by means of implementing acts, decide to connect or disconnect the national contact point for digital health of the third country or the system established at international level by an international organisation, as applicable, to or from MyHealth@EU. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). The Commission shall establish and maintain a list of national contact points for digital health of third countries or of systems established at international level by international organisations which are connected to MyHealth@EU pursuant to this paragraph and shall make that list publicly available.
Article 25 Harmonised software components of EHR systems
1. EHR systems shall include a European interoperability software component for EHR systems and a European logging software component for EHR systems (the ‘harmonised software components of EHR systems’), in accordance with the provisions laid down in this Chapter. 2. This Chapter shall not apply to general purpose software used in a healthcare environment.
Article 26 Placing on the market and putting into service
1. EHR systems shall be placed on the market or put into service only if they comply with the provisions laid down in this Chapter. 2. EHR systems that are manufactured and used within health institutions established in the Union, as well as EHR systems offered as a service as defined in Article 1(1), point (b), of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 33 ) to a natural or legal person established in the Union, shall be considered as having been put into service. 3. Member States shall not prohibit or restrict the placing on the market of EHR systems which comply with this Regulation, on account of considerations relating to aspects concerning the harmonised software components of EHR systems regulated by this Regulation.
Article 27 Relation to Union law governing medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices and AI systems
1. Manufacturers of medical devices or in vitro diagnostic medical devices, as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 and Article 2, point (2), of Regulation (EU) 2017/746, respectively, that claim interoperability of those medical devices or in vitro diagnostic medical devices with the harmonised software components of EHR systems shall prove compliance with the essential requirements on the European interoperability software component for EHR systems and the European logging software component for EHR systems, laid down in Section 2 of Annex II to this Regulation. Article 36 of this Regulation shall apply to those medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices. 2. Providers of AI systems considered to be high-risk in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the ‘high-risk AI system’) and which do not fall within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 or (EU) 2017/746, that claim interoperability of those high-risk AI systems with the harmonised software components of EHR systems, shall prove compliance with the essential requirements on the European interoperability software component for EHR systems and the European logging software component for EHR systems, as laid down in Section 2 of Annex II to this Regulation. Article 36 of this Regulation shall apply to those high-risk AI systems.
Article 28 Claims
In the information sheet, instructions for use or other information accompanying EHR systems, and in the advertising of EHR systems, it shall be prohibited to use text, names, trademarks, pictures and figurative or other signs that may mislead the professional user as defined in Article 3, point (8), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1807 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 34 ) with regard to their intended purpose, interoperability and security by: (a) ascribing functions and properties to the EHR system which it does not have; (b) failing to inform the professional user of likely limitations related to interoperability or security features of the EHR system in relation to its intended purpose; (c) suggesting uses for the EHR system other than those stated to form part of the intended purpose in the technical documentation.
Article 29 Procurement, reimbursement and financing
Member States may maintain or define specific rules for the procurement or financing of, or reimbursement for, EHR systems in the context of the organisation, delivery or financing of healthcare services, provided that such rules are compliant with Union law and do not affect the functioning or compliance of the harmonised software components of EHR systems.
Article 30 Obligations of manufacturers of EHR systems
1. Manufacturers of EHR systems shall: (a) ensure that the harmonised software components of their EHR systems and the EHR systems themselves, to the extent that this Chapter establishes requirements for them, are in conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and with the common specifications in accordance with Article 36; (b) ensure that the harmonised software components of their EHR systems are not adversely affected by other software components of the same EHR system; (c) draw up the technical documentation of their EHR systems in accordance with Article 37 before placing those EHR systems on the market, and subsequently keep it up to date; (d) ensure that their EHR systems are accompanied, free of charge for the user, by the information sheet provided for in Article 38 and clear and complete instructions for use; (e) draw up the EU declaration of conformity in accordance with Article 39; (f) affix the CE marking of conformity in accordance with Article 41; (g) indicate the name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, the postal address, and the website, email address or other digital contact details through which they can be contacted, in the EHR system; indicate in the contact details a single point at which the manufacturer can be contacted; the contact details shall be in a language that is easily understood by users and market surveillance authorities; (h) comply with the registration obligations in Article 49; (i) take without undue delay any necessary corrective action in respect of their EHR systems, where they consider or have reason to believe that such systems are not or are no longer in conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II, or recall or withdraw such systems; the manufacturers of EHR systems shall subsequently inform the national authorities of the Member States in which they made their EHR systems available on the market or put them into service of the non-conformity, of any corrective action taken, including the timetable for implementation, and of the date at which the harmonised software components of their EHR systems have been brought into conformity or been recalled or withdrawn; (j) inform the distributors of their EHR systems and, where applicable, the authorised representative, importers and users of the non-conformity and of any corrective action, recall or withdrawal of those EHR systems; (k) inform the distributors of their EHR systems and, where applicable, the authorised representative, importers and users of any mandatory preventive maintenance of the EHR systems and its frequency; (l) upon request, provide, in an official language of the Member State concerned, market surveillance authorities in that Member State with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the EHR systems which they have placed on the market or put into service with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II; (m) cooperate with market surveillance authorities, at their request, on any action taken to bring the EHR systems which they have placed on the market or put into service into conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and with any requirements adopted pursuant to Article 42 in an official language of the Member State concerned; (n) establish channels of complaint and keep distributors informed thereof; (o) keep a register of complaints and a register of non-conforming EHR systems and keep distributors informed thereof. 2. Manufacturers of EHR systems shall ensure that procedures are in place to ensure that the design, development and deployment of the harmonised software components of an EHR system continue to comply with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and the common specifications referred to in Article 36. Changes in EHR system design or characteristics with regard to the harmonised software components of an EHR system shall be adequately taken into account and reflected in the technical documentation. 3. Manufacturers of EHR systems shall keep the technical documentation referred to in Article 37 and the EU declaration of conformity referred to in Article 39 for 10 years after the EHR system covered by the EU declaration of conformity has been placed on the market. Manufacturers of EHR systems shall make available the source code or the programming logic included in the technical documentation, upon a reasoned request, to the relevant authorities, if that source code or programming logic is necessary in order for those authorities to be able to check compliance with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II. 4. A manufacturer of EHR systems established outside the Union shall ensure that its authorised representative has the necessary documentation readily available in order to fulfil the tasks referred to in Article 31(2). 5. Manufacturers of EHR systems shall, upon a reasoned request from a market surveillance authority, provide it with all the information and documentation, in paper or electronic form, necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the EHR system with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and the common specifications referred to in Article 36, in a language which can be easily understood by that market surveillance authority. The manufacturers of EHR systems shall cooperate with the market surveillance authority, at its request, on any measures taken to eliminate the risks posed by an EHR system which they have placed on the market or put into service.
Article 31 Authorised representatives
1. Prior to making an EHR system available on the Union market, a manufacturer of an EHR system established outside of the Union shall, by written mandate, appoint an authorised representative which is established in the Union. 2. An authorised representative shall perform the tasks specified in the mandate agreed with the manufacturer. The mandate shall allow the authorised representative to do at least the following: (a) keep the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation referred to in Article 37 at the disposal of market surveillance authorities for the period referred to in Article 30(3); (b) further to a reasoned request from a market surveillance authority, provide authorities of the Member State concerned with a copy of the mandate and all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of an EHR system with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II as well as the common specifications referred to in Article 36; (c) inform without undue delay the manufacturer if the authorised representative has reason to believe that an EHR system is no longer in conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II; (d) inform without undue delay the manufacturer about any complaint received from consumers or professional users; (e) cooperate with the market surveillance authorities, at their request, on any corrective action taken in relation to the EHR systems covered by their mandate; (f) terminate the mandate if the manufacturer does not comply with its obligations under this Regulation; (g) ensure that the technical documentation referred to in Article 37 can be made available to relevant authorities, upon request. 3. In the event of a change of the authorised representative, the detailed arrangements for such change shall address at least the following: (a) the date of termination of the mandate of the outgoing authorised representative and the date of the beginning of the mandate of the incoming authorised representative; (b) the transfer of documents, including confidentiality aspects and property rights. 4. Where the manufacturer is established outside the Union and has not complied with the obligations laid down in Article 30, the authorised representative shall be jointly and severally liable for non-compliance with this Regulation on the same basis as the manufacturer.
Article 32 Obligations of importers
1. Importers shall place on the Union market only EHR systems which are in conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II as well as the common specifications referred to in Article 36. 2. Before making an EHR system available on the market, importers shall ensure that: (a) the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation referred to in Article 37 and the EU declaration of conformity; (b) the manufacturer is identified and an authorised representative has been appointed in accordance with Article 31; (c) the EHR system bears the CE marking of conformity referred to in Article 41 after the conformity assessment procedure has been completed; (d) the EHR system is accompanied by the information sheet referred to in Article 38 with clear and complete instructions for use, including for its maintenance, in accessible formats. 3. Importers shall indicate their name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, the postal address, website, email address or other digital contact details through which they can be contacted in a document accompanying the EHR system. The contact details shall indicate a single point at which the manufacturer can be contacted and shall be in a language which can be easily understood by users and market surveillance authorities. Importers shall ensure that any additional label does not conceal or obscure any of the information provided by the manufacturer that appears on any original label which is provided for the EHR system. 4. Importers shall ensure that, while an EHR system is under their responsibility, the EHR system is not altered in such a way that its conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and with any requirements adopted pursuant to Article 42 is jeopardised. 5. Where an importer considers or has reason to believe that an EHR system is not or is no longer in conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and with any requirements adopted pursuant to Article 42, it shall not make that EHR system available on the market, or, if that EHR system was already placed on the market, shall recall or withdraw it, until the EHR system has been brought into conformity. In the event of such recall or withdrawal, the importer shall inform without undue delay the manufacturer of such EHR system, the users and the market surveillance authorities of the Member State in which it made the EHR system available on the market of such recall or withdrawal, giving details, in particular, of the non-conformity and of any corrective measures taken. Where an importer considers or has reason to believe that an EHR system presents a risk to the health or safety of natural persons, it shall without undue delay inform the market surveillance authorities of the Member State in which it is established, as well as the manufacturer and, where applicable, the authorised representative. 6. Importers shall keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities for the period referred to in Article 30(3) and ensure that the technical documentation referred to in Article 37 can be made available to those authorities, upon request. 7. Importers shall, further to a reasoned request from market surveillance authorities of the Member States concerned, provide them with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of an EHR system. Importers shall cooperate with those authorities, at their request, and with the manufacturer and, where applicable, with the authorised representative in an official language of the Member State where the market surveillance authority is located. Importers shall cooperate with those authorities, at their request, on any action taken to bring their EHR systems into conformity with the essential requirements in relation to the harmonised software components as laid down in Annex II or to ensure that the EHR systems which are not in conformity with those essential requirements are recalled or withdrawn. 8. Importers shall establish reporting channels and ensure that they are accessible to allow users to submit complaints, and shall keep a register of complaints, of non-conforming EHR systems and EHR system recalls and withdrawals. Importers shall verify whether the channels of complaint established pursuant to Article 30(1), point (n), are publicly available, allowing users to submit complaints and to receive any communication concerning any risk related to their health and safety or to other aspects of public interest protection and allowing users to be informed of any serious incident involving an EHR system. Where such channels of complaint were not established, the importers shall establish them and take into account the accessibility needs of vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities. 9. Importers shall investigate complaints and follow up on information received on incidents involving an EHR system they made available on the market. Importers shall register those complaints, any recalls or withdrawals of EHR systems and any corrective measure taken to bring the EHR system into conformity, in the register referred to in Article 30(1), point (o), or in their own internal register. Importers shall keep the manufacturer, distributors and, where relevant, authorised representatives informed in a timely manner of the investigation and follow-up carried out and of the results of the investigation and follow-up.
Article 33 Obligations of distributors
1. Before making an EHR system available on the market, distributors shall verify that: (a) the manufacturer has drawn up the EU declaration of conformity; (b) the EHR system bears the CE marking of conformity; (c) the EHR system is accompanied by the information sheet referred to in Article 38 with clear and complete instructions for use in accessible formats; (d) where applicable, the importer has complied with the requirements set out in Article 32(3). 2. Distributors shall ensure that, while an EHR system is under their responsibility, the EHR system is not altered in such a way that its conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and with any requirements adopted pursuant to Article 42 is jeopardised. 3. Where a distributor considers or has reason to believe that an EHR system is not in conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and with any requirements adopted pursuant to Article 42, it shall not make that EHR system available on the market until it has been brought into conformity. The distributor shall inform without undue delay the manufacturer or the importer, as well as the market surveillance authorities of the Member States where the EHR system has been or is to be made available on the market, to that effect. Where a distributor considers or has reason to believe that an EHR system presents a risk to the health or safety of natural persons, it shall inform the market surveillance authorities of the Member State in which the distributor is established, as well as the manufacturer and the importer. 4. Distributors shall, further to a reasoned request from a market surveillance authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of an EHR system. They shall cooperate with that authority, at its request, and with the manufacturer, the importer and, where applicable, with the manufacturer’s authorised representative on any action taken to bring an EHR system into conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and with any requirements adopted pursuant to Article 42 or to recall or withdraw it.
Article 34 Cases in which obligations of manufacturers of an EHR system apply to other entities or individuals
An importer, distributor or user shall be considered a manufacturer for the purposes of this Regulation and shall be subject to the obligations laid down in Article 30 where they: (a) make an EHR system available on the market under their own name or trademark; (b) modify an EHR system already placed on the market in such a way that conformity with the applicable requirements might be affected; or (c) modify an EHR system in such a way that it leads to changes in the intended purpose declared by the manufacturer.
Article 35 Identification of economic operators
Economic operators shall, on request, identify the following to the market surveillance authorities, for 10 years from the date when the last EHR system covered by the EU declaration of conformity has been placed on the market: (a) any economic operator that has supplied them with an EHR system; and (b) any economic operator to which they have supplied an EHR system.
Article 36 Common specifications
1. By 26 March 2027, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt common specifications in respect of the essential requirements laid down in Annex II, including a common template and a time limit for implementing those common specifications. Where relevant, those common specifications shall take into account the specificities of medical devices and high-risk AI systems referred to in Article 27(1) and (2), respectively, including the state-of-the-art standards for health informatics and the European electronic health record exchange format. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 2. The common specifications referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following information and elements: (a) their scope; (b) their applicability to different categories of EHR systems or functions included in them; (c) their version; (d) their validity period; (e) a normative part; (f) an explanatory part, including any relevant implementation guidelines. 3. The common specifications referred to in paragraph 1 may include elements related to the following: (a) datasets containing electronic health data and defining structures, such as data fields and data groups for the representation of clinical content and other parts of the electronic health data; (b) coding systems and values to be used in datasets containing electronic health data, taking due account of both potential future harmonisation of terminologies and their compatibility with existing national terminologies; (c) other requirements related to data quality, such as the completeness and accuracy of electronic health data; (d) technical specifications, standards and profiles for the exchange of electronic health data; (e) requirements and principles related to patient safety and the security, confidentiality, integrity and protection of electronic health data; (f) specifications and requirements related to identification management and the use of electronic identification. 4. EHR systems, medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices and high-risk AI systems referred to in Articles 25 and 27 that are in conformity with the common specifications referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be considered to be in conformity with the essential requirements covered by those common specifications or parts thereof, laid down in Annex II, and covered by those common specifications or the relevant parts thereof. 5. Where common specifications covering interoperability and security requirements of EHR systems affect medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices or high-risk AI systems falling under other legal acts, such as Regulation (EU) 2017/745, (EU) 2017/746 or (EU) 2024/1689, the adoption of those common specifications may be preceded by a consultation with the Medical Device Coordination Group (MDCG) established by Article 103 of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 or the European Artificial Intelligence Board established by Article 65 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), as applicable. 6. Where common specifications covering interoperability and security requirements of medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices or high-risk AI systems falling under other legal acts, such as Regulation (EU) 2017/745, (EU) 2017/746 or (EU) 2024/1689, affect EHR systems, the Commission shall ensure that the adoption of those common specifications is preceded by a consultation with the EHDS Board and the EDPB, as applicable.
Article 37 Technical documentation
1. Manufacturers shall draw up technical documentation before the EHR system is placed on the market or put into service, and shall keep that documentation up to date. 2. The technical documentation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall demonstrate that the EHR system complies with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and provide market surveillance authorities with all the necessary information to assess the conformity of the EHR system with those requirements. That technical documentation shall contain, as a minimum, the elements set out in Annex III and a reference to the results obtained from a European digital testing environment referred to in Article 40. 3. The technical documentation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be drawn up in an official language of the Member State concerned or a language that is easily understandable in that Member State. Following a reasoned request from the market surveillance authority of a Member State, the manufacturer shall provide a translation of the relevant parts of the technical documentation into an official language of that Member State. 4. When a market surveillance authority requests the technical documentation or a translation of parts thereof from a manufacturer, the manufacturer shall provide such technical documentation or translation within 30 days of the date of the request, unless a shorter deadline is justified because of a serious and immediate risk. If the manufacturer does not comply with the requirements of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, the market surveillance authority may require it to have a test performed by an independent body at its own expense within a specified period in order to verify the conformity with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II and the common specifications referred to in Article 36.
Article 38 Information sheet accompanying the EHR system
1. EHR systems shall be accompanied by an information sheet that includes concise, complete, correct and clear information that is relevant, accessible and comprehensible to professional users. 2. The information sheet referred to in paragraph 1 shall specify: (a) the identity, registered trade name or registered trademark, and contact details of the manufacturer and, where applicable, of its authorised representative; (b) the name and version of the EHR system and date of its release; (c) the intended purpose of the EHR system; (d) the categories of electronic health data that the EHR system has been designed to process; (e) the standards, formats and specifications supported by the EHR system and versions of those standards, formats and specifications. 3. As an alternative to supplying the information sheet referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article with the EHR system, manufacturers may enter the information referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article into the EU database for registration of EHR systems and wellness applications referred to in Article 49.
Article 39 EU declaration of conformity
1. The EU declaration of conformity referred to in Article 30(1), point (e), shall state that the manufacturer of an EHR system has demonstrated that the essential requirements laid down in Annex II have been fulfilled. 2. Where an EHR system is subject to other Union legal acts in respect of aspects not covered by this Regulation, which also require an EU declaration of conformity by the manufacturer in which it is stated that the fulfilment of the requirements of those legal acts has been demonstrated, a single EU declaration of conformity shall be drawn up in respect of all Union legal acts applicable to the EHR system. That EU declaration of conformity shall contain all the information required for the identification of the Union legal acts to which it relates. 3. The EU declaration of conformity shall contain the information set out in Annex IV and shall be translated into one or more official Union languages determined by the Member States in which the EHR system is made available. 4. Where an EU declaration of conformity is drawn up in a digital format, it shall be made accessible online for the expected lifetime of the EHR system and, in any event, for at least 10 years from the placing on the market or the putting into service of the EHR system. 5. By drawing up the EU declaration of conformity, the manufacturer shall assume responsibility for the compliance of the harmonised software components of the EHR system with the requirements laid down in this Regulation when it is placed on the market or put into service. 6. The Commission shall publish a standard uniform template for the EU declaration of conformity and make it available in a digital format in all official languages of the Union.
Article 40 European digital testing environment
1. The Commission shall develop a European digital testing environment for the assessment of harmonised software components of EHR systems. The Commission shall make the software supporting the European digital testing environment available as open-source. 2. Member States shall operate digital testing environments for the assessment of harmonised software components of EHR systems. Such digital testing environments shall comply with the common specifications for the European digital testing environment laid down pursuant to paragraph 4. Member States shall inform the Commission about their digital testing environments. 3. Before placing EHR systems on the market, manufacturers shall use the digital testing environments referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article for the assessment of harmonised software components of EHR systems. The results of that assessment shall be included in the technical documentation referred to in Article 37. The elements in relation to which the results of the assessment are positive shall be presumed to be in conformity with this Regulation. 4. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, lay down the common specifications for the European digital testing environment. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2).
Article 41 CE marking of conformity
1. The CE marking of conformity shall be affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the accompanying documents of the EHR system and, where applicable, to the packaging of the EHR system. 2. The CE marking of conformity shall be affixed before placing the EHR system on the market. 3. The CE marking of conformity shall be subject to the general principles set out in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.
Article 42 National requirements and reporting to the Commission
1. Member States may adopt national requirements for EHR systems and provisions on their conformity assessment in relation to aspects other than the harmonised software components of EHR systems. 2. The national requirements or provisions referred to in paragraph 1 shall not adversely affect the harmonised software components of EHR systems. 3. When Member States adopt requirements or provisions in accordance with paragraph 1, they shall inform the Commission thereof.
Article 43 Market surveillance authorities
1. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 shall apply to EHR systems in relation to the requirements applicable to, and risks posed by, EHR systems covered by this Chapter. 2. Member States shall designate the market surveillance authority or authorities responsible for the implementation of this Chapter. Member States shall entrust their market surveillance authorities with the necessary powers and shall provide them with the human, financial and technical resources, the equipment and the knowledge necessary for the proper performance of their tasks pursuant to this Regulation. Market surveillance authorities shall be empowered to take the market surveillance measures referred to in Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 to enforce the obligations laid down in this Chapter. Member States shall communicate the identity of the market surveillance authorities they designate to the Commission. The Commission and the Member States shall make that information publicly available. 3. Market surveillance authorities designated pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article may be the same authorities as the digital health authorities designated pursuant to Article 19. Where a digital health authority carries out tasks of a market surveillance authority, Member States shall ensure that any conflicts of interest are avoided. 4. Market surveillance authorities shall report to the Commission on a yearly basis the outcomes of relevant market surveillance activities. 5. Where a manufacturer or another economic operator fails to cooperate with a market surveillance authority or where the information and documentation they have provided is incomplete or incorrect, the market surveillance authority may take all appropriate measures to prohibit or restrict the relevant EHR system from being made available on the market until the manufacturer or the economic operator concerned cooperates or provides complete and correct information, or to recall or withdraw such EHR system from the market. 6. The market surveillance authorities of the Member States shall cooperate with each other and with the Commission. The Commission shall enable the organisation of exchanges of information necessary for such cooperation. 7. For medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices or high-risk AI systems referred to in Article 27(1) and (2), the responsible authorities for market surveillance shall be those referred to in Article 93 of Regulation (EU) 2017/745, Article 88 of Regulation (EU) 2017/746 or Article 70 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, as applicable.
Article 44 Handling of risks posed by EHR systems and of serious incidents
1. Where a market surveillance authority of one Member State has reason to believe that an EHR system poses a risk to the health, safety or rights of natural persons or to the protection of personal data, that market surveillance authority shall carry out an evaluation in relation to the EHR system concerned covering all relevant requirements laid down in this Regulation. The manufacturer, the manufacturer’s authorised representative and all other relevant economic operators shall cooperate as necessary with the market surveillance authority for that purpose and take all appropriate measures to ensure that the EHR system concerned no longer poses that risk when placed on the market or to recall or withdraw the EHR system from the market within a reasonable period. 2. Where the market surveillance authorities of a Member State consider that the non-compliance of the EHR system is not limited to their national territory, they shall inform the Commission and the other Member States’ market surveillance authorities of the results of the evaluation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and of the corrective action which they have required the economic operator to take pursuant to Article 16(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. 3. Where a market surveillance authority finds that an EHR system has caused harm to the health or safety of natural persons or to certain aspects of public interest protection, the manufacturer shall immediately provide information and documentation, as applicable, to the affected natural person or user and, where applicable, other third parties affected by that harm, without prejudice to data protection rules. 4. The economic operator concerned referred to in paragraph 1 shall ensure that corrective action is taken in respect of all the EHR systems concerned that it has placed on the market throughout the Union. 5. The market surveillance authority shall without undue delay inform the Commission and the market surveillance authorities, or, if applicable, the supervisory authorities under Regulation (EU) 2016/679, of other Member States of the corrective action referred to in paragraph 2. That information shall include all available details, in particular the data necessary for the identification of the EHR system concerned, the origin and the supply chain of the EHR system, the nature of the risk involved and the nature and duration of the national measures taken. 6. Where a finding of a market surveillance authority, or a serious incident it is informed of, concerns personal data protection, that market surveillance authority shall without undue delay inform the relevant supervisory authorities under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and cooperate with them. 7. Manufacturers of EHR systems placed on the market or put into service shall report any serious incident involving an EHR system to the market surveillance authorities of the Member States where such serious incident occurred and of the Member States where such EHR systems are placed on the market or put into service. That reporting shall also include a description of the corrective action taken or envisaged by the manufacturer. Member States may provide for users of EHR systems placed on the market or put into service to be able to report such incidents. The reporting required pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be carried out, without prejudice to incident notification requirements under Directive (EU) 2022/2555, immediately after the manufacturer has established a causal link between the EHR system and the serious incident or the reasonable likelihood of such a link and, in any event, not later than three days after the manufacturer becomes aware of the serious incident involving the EHR system. 8. The market surveillance authorities referred to in paragraph 7 shall inform the other market surveillance authorities, without delay, of the serious incident and the corrective action taken or envisaged by the manufacturer or required of it to minimise the risk of recurrence of the serious incident. 9. Where its tasks are not performed by the digital health authority, the market surveillance authority shall cooperate with the digital health authority. The market surveillance authority shall inform the digital health authority of any serious incidents, of EHR systems presenting a risk, including risks related to interoperability, security and patient safety, of any corrective action and of any recall or withdrawal of such EHR systems. 10. In the event of incidents putting at risk patient safety or information security, the market surveillance authorities may take immediate action and require the manufacturer of the EHR system concerned, its authorised representative and other economic operators, if applicable, to take immediate corrective action.
Article 45 Handling of non-compliance
1. Where a market surveillance authority makes a finding of non-compliance, it shall require the manufacturer of the EHR system concerned, its authorised representative and all other relevant economic operators to take, by a specific deadline, adequate corrective action to bring the EHR system into conformity. Such findings of non-compliance include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) the EHR system is not in conformity with essential requirements laid down in Annex II or with the common specifications referred to in Article 36; (b) the technical documentation is not available, not complete or not in accordance with Article 37; (c) the EU declaration of conformity has not been drawn up or has not been drawn up correctly in accordance with Article 39; (d) the CE marking of conformity has been affixed in breach of Article 41 or has not been affixed; (e) the registration obligations of Article 49 have not been fulfilled. 2. Where the manufacturer of the EHR system concerned, its authorised representative or any other relevant economic operator does not take adequate corrective action within a reasonable period, the market surveillance authorities shall take all appropriate provisional measures to prohibit or restrict the EHR system from being made available on the market of their Member States, or to recall or withdraw the EHR system from that market. The market surveillance authorities shall inform the Commission and the other Member States’ market surveillance authorities, without delay, of those provisional measures. That information shall include all available details, in particular the data necessary for the identification of the non-compliant EHR system, the origin of that EHR system, the nature of the non-compliance alleged and the risk involved, the nature and duration of the measures taken by the market surveillance authorities and the arguments put forward by the relevant economic operator. In particular, the market surveillance authorities shall indicate whether the non-compliance is due to any of the following: (a) failure of the EHR system to meet the essential requirements set out in Annex II; (b) shortcomings regarding the common specifications referred to in Article 36. 3. Market surveillance authorities other than the market surveillance authorities initiating the procedure under this Article shall inform without delay the Commission and the other Member States’ market surveillance authorities of any measures adopted, of any additional information at their disposal relating to the non-compliance of the EHR system concerned and, in the event of disagreement with the adopted national measure, of their objections. 4. Where, within three months of receipt of the information referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2, no objection has been raised by either a market surveillance authority from another Member State or the Commission in respect of a provisional measure taken by a market surveillance authority, that measure shall be deemed justified. 5. Where the non-compliance referred to in paragraph 1 persists, the market surveillance authority concerned shall take all appropriate measures to prohibit or restrict the EHR system from being made available on the market or ensure that it is recalled or withdrawn from the market.
Article 46 Union safeguard procedure
1. Where, under Article 44(2) and Article 45(3), objections are raised against a national measure taken by a market surveillance authority, or where the Commission considers a national measure to be contrary to Union law, the Commission shall without delay enter into consultations with that market surveillance authority and the relevant economic operators and shall evaluate the national measure concerned. On the basis of the results of that evaluation, the Commission shall adopt an implementing decision determining whether the national measure is justified. That implementing decision shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). The Commission shall address its implementing decision to all Member States and shall immediately communicate it to them and to the relevant economic operators. 2. If the national measure referred to in paragraph 1 is considered justified by the Commission, all Member States concerned shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the non-compliant EHR system is withdrawn from their market, and shall inform the Commission accordingly. If the national measure referred to in paragraph 1 is considered unjustified by the Commission, the Member State concerned shall revoke that measure.
Article 47 Labelling of wellness applications
1. Where a manufacturer of a wellness application claims interoperability with an EHR system in relation to the harmonised software components of EHR systems and therefore compliance with the common specifications referred to in Article 36 and essential requirements laid down in Annex II, such wellness application shall be accompanied by a label, clearly indicating its compliance with those specifications and requirements. That label shall be issued by the manufacturer of the wellness application. 2. The label referred to in paragraph 1 shall indicate the following information: (a) the categories of electronic health data for which compliance with essential requirements laid down in Annex II has been confirmed; (b) a reference to common specifications to demonstrate compliance; (c) the validity period of the label. 3. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, determine the format and content of the label referred to in paragraph 1. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 4. The label shall be drawn-up in one or more official languages of the Union or in an easily understandable language determined by the Member State in which the wellness application is placed on the market or put into service. 5. The validity of the label shall not exceed three years. 6. If the wellness application is an integral part of a device or is embedded in a device after it has been put into service, the accompanying label shall be shown in the application itself or placed on that device. Where the wellness application consists only of software, the label shall have a digital format and shall be shown in the application itself. Two-dimensional (2D) barcodes may also be used to display the label. 7. The market surveillance authorities shall check the compliance of wellness applications with the essential requirements laid down in Annex II. 8. Each supplier of a wellness application for which a label has been issued shall ensure that the wellness application that is placed on the market or put into service is accompanied by the label for each individual unit, free of charge. 9. Each distributor of a wellness application for which a label has been issued shall make the label available to customers at the point of sale in electronic form.
Article 48 Interoperability of wellness applications with EHR systems
1. Manufacturers of wellness applications may claim interoperability with an EHR system, provided that the relevant common specifications and essential requirements referred to in Article 36 and Annex II, respectively, are met. In the event of such claim, those manufacturers shall duly inform users of the interoperability of such wellness applications and the effects of such interoperability. 2. The interoperability of wellness applications with EHR systems shall not entail the automatic sharing of all or part of the health data from the wellness application with, or automatic transmission of all or part of such data to, the EHR system. The sharing or transmission of such data shall only be possible if it is in accordance with Article 5 and after consent is given by the natural person concerned and interoperability shall be limited exclusively to those purposes. The manufacturers of wellness applications claiming interoperability with an EHR system shall ensure that the natural person concerned is able to choose which categories of health data from the wellness application are to be inserted in the EHR system and the circumstances for the sharing or transmission of those categories of data.
Article 49 EU database for registration of EHR systems and wellness applications
1. The Commission shall establish and maintain a publicly available EU database with data on EHR systems for which an EU declaration of conformity has been issued pursuant to Article 39 and wellness applications for which a label has been issued pursuant to Article 47 (the ‘EU database for registration of EHR systems and wellness applications’). 2. Before placing on the market or putting into service an EHR system referred to in Article 26 or a wellness application referred to in Article 47, the manufacturer of such EHR system or wellness application or, where applicable, its authorised representative shall enter the required data as referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article into the EU database for registration of EHR systems and wellness applications, including, in the case of EHR systems, the results of the assessment referred to in Article 40. 3. Medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices or high-risk AI systems referred to in Article 27(1) and (2) of this Regulation shall also be registered in the databases established pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/745, (EU) 2017/746 or (EU) 2024/1689, as applicable. In such cases, the data to be entered shall also be forwarded to the EU database for registration of EHR systems and wellness applications. 4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 97 to supplement this Regulation by determining the list of required data to be entered into the EU database for registration of EHR systems and wellness applications by the manufacturers of EHR systems and wellness applications pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article.
Article 50 Applicability to health data holders
1. The following categories of health data holders shall be exempt from the obligations on health data holders laid down in this Chapter: (a) natural persons, including individual researchers; (b) legal persons that qualify as microenterprises as defined in Article 2(3) of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. 2. Member States may provide in their national law that the obligations of health data holders laid down in this Chapter apply to the health data holders referred to in paragraph 1 which fall under their jurisdiction. 3. Member States may provide in their national law that the duties of certain categories of health data holders are to be fulfilled by health data intermediation entities. In that case, the data shall nevertheless be considered as being made available by several health data holders. 4. Member States shall notify to the Commission the national law referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 by 26 March 2029. Any subsequent law or amendment affecting such law shall be notified to the Commission without delay.
Article 51 Minimum categories of electronic health data for secondary use
1. Health data holders shall make the following categories of electronic health data available for secondary use in accordance with this Chapter: (a) electronic health data from EHRs; (b) data on factors impacting on health, including socioeconomic, environmental and behavioural determinants of health; (c) aggregated data on healthcare needs, resources allocated to healthcare, the provision of and access to healthcare, healthcare expenditure and financing; (d) data on pathogens that impact human health; (e) healthcare-related administrative data, including on dispensations, reimbursement claims and reimbursements; (f) human genetic, epigenomic and genomic data; (g) other human molecular data such as proteomic, transcriptomic, metabolomic, lipidomic and other omic data; (h) personal electronic health data automatically generated through medical devices; (i) data from wellness applications; (j) data on professional status, and on the specialisation and institution of health professionals involved in the treatment of a natural person; (k) data from population-based health data registries such as public health registries; (l) data from medical registries and mortality registries; (m) data from clinical trials, clinical studies, clinical investigations and performance studies subject to Regulation (EU) No 536/2014, Regulation (EU) 2024/1938 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 35 ) , Regulation (EU) 2017/745 and Regulation (EU) 2017/746; (n) other health data from medical devices; (o) data from registries for medicinal products and medical devices; (p) data from research cohorts, questionnaires and surveys related to health, after the first publication of the related results; (q) health data from biobanks and associated databases. 2. Member States may provide in their national law that additional categories of electronic health data are to be made available for secondary use pursuant to this Regulation. 3. Member States may establish rules for the processing and use of electronic health data containing improvements related to the processing of those data, such as correction, annotation or enrichment, based on a data permit pursuant to Article 68. 4. Member States may introduce stricter measures and additional safeguards at national level aimed at safeguarding the sensitivity and value of the data that fall under paragraph 1, points (f), (g), (i) and (q). Member States shall notify the Commission of those measures and safeguards and, without delay, of any subsequent amendment affecting them.
Article 52 Intellectual property rights and trade secrets
1. Electronic health data protected by intellectual property rights, trade secrets or covered by the regulatory data protection right laid down in Article 10(1) of Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 36 ) or Article 14(11) of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 37 ) shall be made available for secondary use in accordance with the rules laid down in this Regulation. 2. Health data holders shall inform the health data access body of any electronic health data containing content or information protected by intellectual property rights, trade secrets or covered by the regulatory data protection right laid down in Article 10(1) of Directive 2001/83/EC or Article 14(11) of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004. Health data holders shall identify which parts of the datasets are concerned and justify the need for the specific protection of the data. Health data holders shall provide that information when communicating to the health data access body the description of the dataset they hold pursuant to Article 60(3) of this Regulation or, at the latest, following a request received from the health data access body. 3. Health data access bodies shall take all specific appropriate and proportionate measures, including of a legal, organisational and technical nature, they deem necessary to protect the intellectual property rights, trade secrets or the regulatory data protection right laid down in Article 10(1) of Directive 2001/83/EC or Article 14(11) of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004. Health data access bodies shall remain responsible for determining whether such measures are necessary and appropriate. 4. When issuing data permits in accordance with Article 68, health data access bodies may make the access to certain electronic health data conditional on legal, organisational and technical measures, which may include contractual arrangements between health data holders and health data users for the sharing of data containing information or content protected by intellectual property rights or trade secrets. The Commission shall develop and recommend non-binding models of contractual terms for such arrangements. 5. Where the granting of access to electronic health data for secondary use entails a serious risk of infringing intellectual property rights, trade secrets or the regulatory data protection right laid down in Article 10(1) of Directive 2001/83/EC or Article 14(11) of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 which cannot be addressed in a satisfactory manner, the health data access body shall refuse access to the health data applicant to such data. The health data access body shall inform the health data applicant of, and provide to the health data applicant a justification for, that refusal. Health data holders and health data applicants shall have the right to lodge a complaint in accordance with Article 81 of this Regulation.
Article 53 Purposes for which electronic health data can be processed for secondary use
1. Health data access bodies shall only grant access to electronic health data referred to in Article 51 for secondary use to a health data user where the processing of the data by that health data user is necessary for one of the following purposes: (a) the public interest in the areas of public or occupational health, such as activities to protect against serious cross-border threats to health, public health surveillance or activities ensuring high levels of quality and safety of healthcare, including patient safety, and of medicinal products or medical devices; (b) policymaking and regulatory activities to support public sector bodies or Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, including regulatory authorities, in the health or care sector to carry out their tasks defined in their mandates; (c) statistics as defined in Article 3, point (1), of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009, such as national, multi-national and Union-level official statistics, related to health or care sectors; (d) education or teaching activities in health or care sectors at vocational or higher education level; (e) scientific research related to health or care sectors that contributes to public health or health technology assessments, or ensures high levels of quality and safety of healthcare, of medicinal products or of medical devices, with the aim of benefiting end-users, such as patients, health professionals and health administrators, including: (i) development and innovation activities for products or services; (ii) training, testing and evaluation of algorithms, including in medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices, AI systems and digital health applications; (f) improvement of the delivery of care, of the optimisation of treatment and of the provision of healthcare, based on the electronic health data of other natural persons. 2. Access to electronic health data for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1, points (a), (b) and (c), shall be reserved for public sector bodies and Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies exercising the tasks conferred on them by Union or national law, including where processing of data for carrying out those tasks is done by a third party on behalf of those public sector bodies or of Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies.
Article 54 Prohibited secondary use
Health data users shall only process electronic health data for secondary use on the basis of and in accordance with the purposes contained in a data permit issued pursuant to Article 68, health data requests approved pursuant to Article 69 or, in situations referred to in Article 67(3), an access approval from the relevant authorised participant in HealthData@EU referred to in Article 75. In particular, seeking access to and processing electronic health data obtained via a data permit issued pursuant to Article 68 or a health data request approved pursuant to Article 69 for the following uses shall be prohibited: (a) taking decisions detrimental to a natural person or a group of natural persons based on their electronic health data; in order to qualify as ‘decisions’ for the purposes of this point, they have to produce legal, social or economic effects or similarly significantly affect those natural persons; (b) taking decisions in relation to a natural person or a group of natural persons in relation to job offers, offering less favourable terms in the provision of goods or services, including exclusion of such persons or groups from the benefit of an insurance or credit contract, the modification of their contributions and insurance premiums or conditions of loans, or taking any other decisions in relation to a natural person or a group of natural persons which result in discriminating against them on the basis of the health data obtained; (c) carrying out advertising or marketing activities; (d) developing products or services that may harm individuals, public health or society at large, such as illicit drugs, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and nicotine products, weaponry or products or services which are designed or modified in such a way that they create addiction, contravene public order or cause a risk for human health; (e) carrying out activities in conflict with ethical provisions laid down in national law.
Article 55 Health data access bodies
1. Member States shall designate one or more health data access bodies responsible for carrying out the tasks and obligations set out in Articles 57, 58 and 59. Member States may either establish one or more new public sector bodies or rely on existing public sector bodies or on internal services of public sector bodies that fulfil the conditions set out in this Article. The tasks set out in Article 57 may be distributed between different health data access bodies. Where a Member State designates several health data access bodies, it shall designate one health data access body to act as coordinator, with responsibility for coordinating tasks with the other health data access bodies both within the territory of that Member State and in other Member States. Each health data access body shall contribute to the consistent application of this Regulation throughout the Union. For that purpose, health data access bodies shall cooperate with each other, with the Commission and, for concerns regarding data protection, with the relevant supervisory authorities. 2. In order to support the effective performance of the tasks and the exercise of the powers of the health data access bodies, Member States shall ensure that each health data access body is provided with the following elements: (a) the necessary human, financial and technical resources; (b) the necessary expertise; and (c) the necessary premises and infrastructure. Where an assessment by ethics bodies is required under national law, those bodies shall make expertise available to the health data access body. As an alternative, Member States may provide for ethics bodies to form part of the health data access body. 3. Member States shall ensure that any conflicts of interest between the organisational parts of health data access bodies performing the different tasks of such bodies is avoided by, for example, providing for organisational safeguards such as segregation between health data access bodies’ different functions, including assessing applications, the reception and preparation of datasets, for example pseudonymisation and anonymisation of datasets, and the provision of data in secure processing environments. 4. In the performance of their tasks, health data access bodies shall actively cooperate with relevant stakeholders’ representatives, especially with representatives of patients, health data holders and health data users and shall avoid any conflicts of interest. 5. In the performance of their tasks and exercise of their powers, health data access bodies shall avoid any conflicts of interest. Health data access bodies’ staff shall act in the public interest and in an independent manner. 6. Member States shall inform the Commission of the identity of the health data access bodies designated pursuant to paragraph 1 by 26 March 2027. They shall also inform the Commission of any subsequent modification of the identity of those bodies. The Commission and the Member States shall make that information publicly available.
Article 56 Union health data access service
1. The Commission shall perform the tasks set out in Articles 57 and 59 where the health data holders are Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies. 2. The Commission shall ensure that the necessary human, technical and financial resources, premises and infrastructure are allocated for the effective performance of the tasks set out in Articles 57 and 59 and the exercise of its duties. 3. Unless otherwise explicitly excluded, references to health data access bodies in this Regulation in relation to the performance of tasks and exercise of duties shall be understood to also apply to the Commission, where the health data holders are Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies.
Article 57 Tasks of health data access bodies
1. Health data access bodies shall carry out the following tasks: (a) deciding on health data access applications pursuant to Article 67 of this Regulation, authorising and issuing data permits pursuant to Article 68 of this Regulation to access electronic health data falling within their remit for secondary use and deciding on health data requests submitted pursuant to Article 69 of this Regulation in accordance with this Chapter and Chapter II of Regulation (EU) 2022/868, including with regard to: (i) providing access to electronic health data to health data users pursuant to a data permit in a secure processing environment in accordance with Article 73; (ii) monitoring and supervising compliance by health data users and health data holders with the requirements laid down in this Regulation; (iii) requesting electronic health data referred to in Article 51 from relevant health data holders pursuant to a data permit issued or a health data request approved; (b) processing electronic health data referred to in Article 51 such as by receiving, combining, preparing and compiling such data when requested from health data holders and the pseudonymisation or anonymisation of those data; (c) taking all measures necessary to preserve the confidentiality of intellectual property rights, for regulatory data protection and to preserve the confidentiality of trade secrets as provided for in Article 52, taking into account the relevant rights of both the health data holder and health data user; (d) cooperating with and supervising health data holders to ensure the consistent and accurate implementation of the provisions on data quality and utility label in Article 78; (e) maintaining a management system to record and process health data access applications, health data requests, decisions on those applications and requests and the data permits issued and health data requests handled, providing at least information on the name of the health data applicant, the purpose of access, the date of issuance, the duration of the data permit and a description of the health data access application or the health data request; (f) maintaining a public information system to comply with the obligations laid down in Article 58; (g) cooperating at Union and national level to lay down common standards, technical requirements and appropriate measures for accessing electronic health data in a secure processing environment; (h) cooperating at Union and national level and providing advice to the Commission on techniques and best practices for secondary use and the management of electronic health data; (i) facilitating cross-border access to electronic health data for secondary use hosted in other Member States through HealthData@EU referred to in Article 75 and cooperating closely with each other and with the Commission; (j) making public, through electronic means: (i) a national dataset catalogue that includes details about the source and nature of electronic health data, in accordance with Articles 77, 78 and 80, and the conditions for making electronic health data available; (ii) any health data access application and health data request without undue delay after initial reception; (iii) all data permits issued or health data requests approved as well as refusal decisions, including their justification, within 30 working days of the issuance, approval or refusal; (iv) measures related to non-compliance pursuant to Article 63; (v) results communicated by health data users pursuant to Article 61(4); (vi) an information system to comply with the obligations laid down in Article 58; (vii) information, at a minimum on an easily accessible website or web portal, on the connection to HealthData@EU of national contact points for secondary use of a third country, or of a system established at international level by an international organisation, as soon as the third country or the international organisation becomes an authorised participant in HealthData@EU; (k) fulfilling obligations towards natural persons pursuant to Article 58; (l) fulfilling any other tasks related to making possible the secondary use of electronic health data in the context of this Regulation. The national dataset catalogue referred to in point (j)(i) of this paragraph shall also be made available to single information points under Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2022/868. 2. In the exercise of their tasks, health data access bodies shall: (a) cooperate with supervisory authorities under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 in relation to personal electronic health data and the EHDS Board; (b) cooperate with all relevant stakeholders, including patient organisations, representatives of natural persons, health professionals, researchers, and ethics committees, where applicable in accordance with Union or national law; (c) cooperate with other national competent bodies, including the national competent authorities supervising data altruism organisations under Regulation (EU) 2022/868, the competent authorities under Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 and the national competent authorities under Regulations (EU) 2017/745, (EU) 2017/746 and (EU) 2024/1689, where relevant. 3. Health data access bodies may provide assistance to public sector bodies where those public sector bodies access electronic health data in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854. 4. Health data access bodies may provide support to a public sector body where it obtains data in the circumstances referred to in Article 15, point (a) or (b), of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854, in accordance with the rules laid down in that Regulation, by providing technical support to process those data or combining them with other data for joint analysis.
Article 58 Obligations of health data access bodies towards natural persons
1. Health data access bodies shall make information on the conditions under which electronic health data are made available for secondary use publicly available, easily searchable through electronic means and accessible for natural persons. That information shall cover the following: (a) the legal basis under which access to electronic health data is granted to the health data user; (b) the technical and organisational measures taken to protect the rights of natural persons; (c) the applicable rights of natural persons in relation to secondary use; (d) the arrangements for natural persons to exercise their rights in accordance with Chapter III of Regulation (EU) 2016/679; (e) the identity and the contact details of the health data access body; (f) who has been granted access to datasets of electronic health data and to which datasets they were granted access and details of the data permit regarding the purposes for processing such data as referred to in Article 53(1); (g) the results or outcomes of the projects for which the electronic health data were used. 2. If a Member State has provided for the right to opt out pursuant to Article 71 to be exercised through the health data access bodies, the relevant health data access bodies shall provide public information about the procedure to opt out and facilitate the exercise of that right. 3. Where a health data access body is informed by a health data user of a significant finding related to the health of a natural person, as referred to in Article 61(5), the health data access body shall inform the health data holder about that finding. The health data holder shall, under the conditions laid down by national law, inform the natural person or health professional treating the natural person concerned. Natural persons shall have the right to request not to be informed of such findings. 4. Member States shall inform the public at large about the role and benefits of health data access bodies.
Article 59 Reporting by health data access bodies
1. Each health data access body shall publish an activity report every two years and make it publicly available on its website. If a Member State designates more than one health data access body, the coordinating body referred to in Article 55(1) shall be responsible for the activity report and request the necessary information from the other health data access bodies. That activity report shall follow a structure agreed by the EHDS Board pursuant to Article 94(2), point (d), and contain at least the following categories of information: (a) information relating to the health data access applications and health data requests submitted, such as the types of health data applicants, number of data permits issued or refused, categories of purposes of access and categories of electronic health data accessed, and a summary of the results of the electronic health data uses, where applicable; (b) information on the fulfilment of regulatory and contractual commitments by health data users and health data holders, as well as the number and amount of administrative fines imposed by health data access bodies; (c) information on audits carried out on health data users to ensure compliance of the processing they carry out in the secure processing environment pursuant to Article 73(1), point (e); (d) information on internal and third-party audits on compliance of secure processing environments with the defined standards, specifications and requirements, as referred to in Article 73(3); (e) information on the handling of requests from natural persons relating to the exercise of their data protection rights; (f) a description of the health data access body’s activities carried out in relation to engagement with and consultation of relevant stakeholders; (g) revenues from data permits and health data requests; (h) the average number of days between health data access applications or health data requests and access to data; (i) the number of data quality labels issued by health data holders, disaggregated per quality category; (j) the number of peer-reviewed research publications, policy documents and regulatory procedures using data accessed via the EHDS; (k) the number of digital health products and services, including AI applications, developed using data accessed via the EHDS. 2. The activity report referred to in paragraph 1 shall be submitted to the Commission and the EHDS Board within six months of the end of the second year of the relevant reporting period. The activity report shall be accessible via the Commission’s website.
Article 60 Duties of health data holders
1. Health data holders shall make relevant electronic health data referred to in Article 51 available upon request to the health data access body, in accordance with a data permit issued pursuant to Article 68, or upon a health data request approved pursuant to Article 69. 2. Health data holders shall put the requested electronic health data referred to in paragraph 1 at the disposal of the health data access body within a reasonable time and no later than three months from the receipt of the request by the health data access body. In justified cases, the health data access body may extend that period by a maximum of three months. 3. The health data holder shall communicate to the health data access body a description of the dataset it holds in accordance with Article 77. The health data holder shall, at a minimum on an annual basis, check that its dataset description in the national dataset catalogue is accurate and up to date. 4. Where a data quality and utility label accompanies the dataset pursuant to Article 78, the health data holder shall provide sufficient documentation to the health data access body for that body to verify the accuracy of the label. 5. Health data holders of non-personal electronic health data shall provide access to data through trusted open databases to ensure unrestricted access for all users and data storage and preservation. Trusted open public databases shall have in place robust, transparent and sustainable governance and a transparent model of user access.
Article 61 Duties of health data users
1. Health data users may access and process the electronic health data referred to in Article 51 for secondary use only in accordance with a data permit issued pursuant to Article 68, a health data request approved pursuant to Article 69 or, in situations referred to in Article 67(3), an access approval from the relevant authorised participant in HealthData@EU referred to in Article 75. 2. When processing electronic health data within the secure processing environments referred to in Article 73, health data users shall not provide access to the electronic health data, or make those data available, to third parties not mentioned in the data permit. 3. Health data users shall not re-identify or attempt to re-identify the natural persons to whom the electronic health data obtained by the health data users on the basis of a data permit, a health data request or an access approval by an authorised participant in HealthData@EU relate. 4. Health data users shall make public the results or output of secondary use, including information relevant for the provision of healthcare, within 18 months of the completion of the processing of the electronic health data in the secure processing environment or of having received the response to the health data request referred to in Article 69. In justified cases related to the permitted purposes of the processing of electronic health data, the period referred to in the first subparagraph may be extended by the health data access body, in particular in cases where the result is published in a scientific journal or other scientific publication. The results or output of secondary use shall contain only anonymous data. Health data users shall inform the health data access bodies from which a data permit was obtained about the results or output of secondary use and assist them to make that information public on health data access bodies’ websites. Such publication shall be without prejudice to publication rights in scientific journals or other scientific publications. When health data users use electronic health data in accordance with this Chapter, they shall acknowledge the sources of the electronic health data and the fact that the electronic health data have been obtained in the framework of the EHDS. 5. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, health data users shall inform the health data access body of any significant finding related to the health of the natural person whose data are included in the dataset. 6. Health data users shall cooperate with health data access bodies in those bodies’ performance of their tasks.
Article 62 Fees
1. Health data access bodies, including the Union health data access service, or trusted health data holders referred to in Article 72 may charge fees for making electronic health data available for secondary use. The fees shall be in proportion to the cost of making the data available and they shall not restrict competition. The fees shall cover all or part of the costs related to the procedure for assessing a health data access application or a health data request, for issuing, refusing or amending a data permit pursuant to Articles 67 and 68 or for providing a response to a health data request submitted pursuant to Article 69, including costs related to the consolidation, preparation, pseudonymisation, anonymisation and provision of the electronic health data. Member States may establish reduced fees for certain types of health data users located in the Union, such as public sector bodies or Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies with a legal mandate in the field of public health, university researchers or microenterprises. 2. The fees referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may include compensation for the costs incurred by the health data holder for compiling and preparing the electronic health data to be made available for secondary use. In such cases, the health data holder shall provide an estimate of such costs to the health data access body. Where the health data holder is a public sector body, Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2022/868 shall not apply. The part of the fees linked to the health data holder’s costs shall be paid to the health data holder. 3. Any fees charged to health data users pursuant to this Article shall be transparent and non-discriminatory. 4. Where health data holders and health data users do not agree on the level of the fees within one month of the data permit being issued, the health data access body may set the fees in proportion to the cost of making electronic health data available for secondary use. Where health data holders or health data users disagree with the fee set by the health data access body, they shall have access to dispute settlement bodies in accordance with Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854. 5. Before issuing a data permit pursuant to Article 68 or providing a response to a health data request submitted pursuant to Article 69, the health data access body shall inform the health data applicant of the estimated fees. The health data applicant shall be informed about the option to withdraw the health data access application or health data request. If the health data applicant withdraws its application or request, the health data applicant shall only be charged the costs that have already been incurred. 6. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, lay down principles for the fee policies and fee structures, including deductions for the entities referred to in paragraph 1, fourth subparagraph, of this Article in order to support consistency and transparency between Member States regarding such fee policies and fee structures. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2).
Article 63 Enforcement by health data access bodies
1. When carrying out their monitoring and supervisory tasks, as referred to in Article 57(1), point (a)(ii), health data access bodies shall have the right to request and receive all the necessary information from health data users and health data holders to verify compliance with this Chapter. 2. Where health data access bodies find that a health data user or health data holder does not comply with the requirements of this Chapter, they shall immediately notify the health data user or health data holder of those findings and take appropriate measures. The health data access body concerned shall give the health data user or health data holder concerned the opportunity to state their views within a reasonable period that shall not exceed four weeks. Where the finding of non-compliance concerns a possible breach of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the health data access body concerned shall immediately inform the supervisory authorities under that Regulation and provide them with all relevant information concerning that finding. 3. With regard to non-compliance by health data users, health data access bodies shall have the power to revoke the data permit issued pursuant to Article 68 and stop without undue delay the affected electronic health data processing operation carried out by the health data user, and shall take appropriate and proportionate measures aimed at ensuring compliant processing by the health data user. As part of such enforcement measures, the health data access bodies may also, where appropriate, exclude, or initiate proceedings to exclude, in accordance with national law, the health data user concerned from any access to electronic health data within the EHDS in the context of secondary use for a period of up to five years. 4. With regard to non-compliance by health data holders, where a health data holder withholds the electronic health data from health data access bodies with the manifest intention of obstructing the use of electronic health data, or does not respect the deadlines set out in Article 60(2), the health data access body shall have the power to fine the health data holder for each day of delay with a periodic penalty payment, which shall be transparent and proportionate. The amount of the fines shall be established by the health data access body in accordance with national law. In the event of repeated breaches by the health data holder of the obligation of cooperation with the health data access body, that body may exclude or initiate proceedings to exclude, in accordance with national law, the health data holder concerned from submitting health data access applications pursuant to this Chapter for a period of up to five years. During the period of that exclusion, the health data holder shall remain obliged to make data accessible under this Chapter, where applicable. 5. The health data access body shall communicate the enforcement measures taken pursuant to paragraphs 3 and 4, and the reasons on which they are based, to the health data user or health data holder concerned, without delay, and shall lay down a reasonable period for the health data user or health data holder to comply with those measures. 6. Any enforcement measures taken by the health data access body pursuant to paragraph 3 shall be notified to other health data access bodies through the IT tool referred to in paragraph 7. Health data access bodies may make that information publicly available on their websites. 7. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, set out the architecture of an IT tool, as part of the infrastructure of HealthData@EU referred to in Article 75, aimed at supporting and making transparent to other health data access bodies the enforcement measures referred to in this Article, especially periodic penalty payments, the revoking of data permits and exclusions. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 8. The Commission shall issue guidelines, by 26 March 2032, in close cooperation with the EHDS Board, on enforcement measures including periodic penalty payments and other measures to be taken by the health data access bodies.
Article 64 General conditions for the imposition of administrative fines by health data access bodies
1. Each health data access body shall ensure that the imposition of administrative fines pursuant to this Article in respect of infringements referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5 is effective, proportionate and dissuasive in each individual case. 2. Administrative fines shall, depending on the circumstances of each individual case, be imposed in addition to, or instead of, enforcement measures referred to in Article 63(3) and (4). Health data access bodies shall decide whether to impose an administrative fine and the amount of the administrative fine in each individual case by giving due regard to the following circumstances: (a) the nature, gravity and duration of the infringement; (b) whether any penalties or administrative fines have already been imposed by other competent authorities for the same infringement; (c) the intentional or negligent character of the infringement; (d) any action taken by the health data holder or health data user to mitigate the damage caused; (e) the degree of responsibility of the health data user, taking into account technical and organisational measures implemented by that health data user pursuant to Article 67(2), point (g), and Article 67(4); (f) any relevant previous infringements by the health data holder or health data user; (g) the degree of cooperation of the health data holder or health data user with the health data access body as regards remedying the infringement and mitigating its possible adverse effects; (h) the manner in which the health data access body became aware of the infringement, in particular whether, and to what extent, the health data user notified it of the infringement; (i) compliance with any enforcement measures referred to in Article 63(3) and (4) which have been ordered previously against the controller or processor concerned with regard to the same subject matter; (j) any other aggravating or mitigating factor applicable to the circumstances of the case, such as financial benefits gained or losses avoided, directly or indirectly, through the infringement. 3. If a health data holder or a health data user intentionally or negligently infringes several provisions of this Regulation for the same or a linked data permit or health data request, the total amount of the administrative fine shall not exceed the amount specified for the most serious infringement. 4. In accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, infringements of the duties of the health data holder or health data user pursuant to Article 60 and Article 61(1), (5) and (6) shall be subject to administrative fines of a maximum of EUR 10 000 000 or, in the case of an undertaking, of a maximum of 2 % of its total worldwide annual turnover in the preceding financial year, whichever is higher. 5. In accordance with paragraph 2, the following infringements shall be subject to administrative fines of a maximum of EUR 20 000 000 or, in the case of an undertaking, of a maximum of 4 % of its total worldwide annual turnover in the preceding financial year, whichever is higher: (a) health data users processing electronic health data obtained via a data permit issued pursuant to Article 68 for the uses referred to in Article 54; (b) health data users extracting personal electronic health data from secure processing environments; (c) re-identifying or attempting to re-identify the natural persons to whom the electronic health data obtained by the health data users on the basis of a data permit or a health data request pursuant to Article 61(3) relate; (d) non-compliance with enforcement measures taken by the health data access body pursuant to Article 63(3) and (4). 6. Without prejudice to the powers of health data access bodies pursuant to Article 63, each Member State may lay down rules on whether and to what extent administrative fines may be imposed on public authorities and public sector bodies established in that Member State. 7. The exercise by a health data access body of its powers under this Article shall be subject to appropriate procedural safeguards in accordance with Union and national law, including effective judicial remedies and due process. 8. Where the legal system of a Member State does not provide for administrative fines, this Article may be applied in a manner that, in accordance with its national legal framework, ensures that those legal remedies are effective and have an equivalent effect to the administrative fines imposed by health data access bodies. In any event, the fines imposed shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The Member State concerned shall notify the Commission of the provisions of the laws which it adopts pursuant to this paragraph by 26 March 2029 and, without delay, of any subsequent law amending such provisions or amendments affecting such provisions.
Article 65 Relationship with supervisory authorities under Regulation (EU) 2016/679
The supervisory authority or authorities responsible for monitoring and enforcing the application of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall also be competent for monitoring and enforcing the application of the right to opt out from the processing of personal electronic health data for secondary use pursuant to Article 71. Those supervisory authorities shall be empowered to impose administrative fines up to the amount referred to in Article 83 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The supervisory authorities referred to in the first paragraph of this Article and the health data access bodies referred to in Article 55 of this Regulation shall, where relevant, cooperate in the enforcement of this Regulation, within the remit of their respective competences. The relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall apply mutatis mutandis .
Article 66 Data minimisation and purpose limitation
1. Where health data access bodies receive a health data access application, they shall ensure that access is only provided to electronic health data that are adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purpose of processing indicated in the health data access application by the health data user and in line with the data permit issued pursuant to Article 68. 2. Health data access bodies shall provide electronic health data in an anonymised format, where the purpose of processing by the health data user can be achieved with such data, taking into account the information provided by the health data user. 3. Where the health data user has sufficiently demonstrated that the purpose of processing cannot be achieved with anonymised data in accordance with Article 68(1), point (c), health data access bodies shall provide access to electronic health data in pseudonymised format. The information necessary to reverse the pseudonymisation shall be available only to the health data access body or an entity that acts as a trusted third party in accordance with national law.
Article 67 Health data access applications
1. A natural or legal person may submit a health data access application for the purposes referred to in Article 53(1) to a health data access body. 2. The health data access application shall include: (a) the health data applicant’s identity, a description of that health data applicant’s professional functions and activities, including the identity of the natural persons who would have access to the electronic health data if a data permit were issued; the health data applicant shall notify the health data access body of any update of the list of natural persons; (b) the purposes referred to in Article 53(1) for which access to data is applied for; (c) a detailed explanation of the intended use of the electronic health data and expected benefit related to that use and how that benefit would contribute to the purposes referred to in Article 53(1); (d) a description of the requested electronic health data, including their scope, time range, format, sources and, where possible, the geographical coverage where such data are requested from health data holders in several Member States or from authorised participants in HealthData@EU referred to in Article 75; (e) a description explaining whether the electronic health data need to be made available in a pseudonymised or anonymised format; in the case of a pseudonymised format, a justification as to why the processing cannot be carried out using anonymised data; (f) where the health data applicant intends to bring datasets already held by that health data applicant into the secure processing environment, a description of those datasets; (g) a description of the safeguards, which are to be proportionate to the risks, planned to prevent any misuse of the electronic health data, as well as to protect the rights and interests of the health data holder and of the natural persons concerned, including to prevent any re-identification of natural persons in the dataset; (h) a justified indication of the period during which the electronic health data are needed for processing in a secure processing environment; (i) a description of the tools and computing resources needed for a secure processing environment; (j) where applicable, information on any assessment of ethical aspects of the processing, required under national law, which may serve to replace the health data applicant’s own ethics assessment; (k) where the health data applicant intends to make use of an exception under Article 71(4), the justification required by national law pursuant to that Article. 3. When seeking access to electronic health data held by health data holders established in more than one Member State or from the relevant authorised participants in HealthData@EU referred to in Article 75, the health data applicant shall submit a single health data access application through the health data access body of the Member State where the main establishment of the health data applicant is located, through the health data access body of the Member State in which one of those health data holders is established or through the services provided by the Commission in HealthData@EU referred to in Article 75. The health data access application shall be automatically forwarded to the relevant authorised participants in HealthData@EU and to the health data access bodies of the Member States where the health data holders identified in the health data access application are established. 4. When seeking access to the personal electronic health data in a pseudonymised format, the health data applicant shall provide, together with the health data access application, a description of how the processing would comply with applicable Union and national law on data protection and privacy, in particular with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and, more specifically, with Article 6(1) thereof. 5. Public sector bodies and Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall provide the same information as required under paragraphs 2 and 4, except for paragraph 2, point (h), in which case they shall submit instead information concerning the period for which the electronic health data can be accessed, the frequency of that access or the frequency of the data updates.
Article 68 Data permit
1. For the purposes of granting access to electronic health data, the health data access bodies shall assess whether all the following criteria are fulfilled: (a) the purposes described in the health data access application correspond to one or more of the purposes listed in Article 53(1); (b) the requested data are necessary, adequate and proportionate for the purposes described in the health data access application, taking into account data minimisation and purpose limitation requirements provided for in Article 66; (c) the processing complies with Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and, in the case of pseudonymised data, there is sufficient justification that the purpose cannot be achieved with anonymised data; (d) the health data applicant is qualified in relation to the intended purposes of data use and has appropriate expertise, including professional qualifications in the areas of healthcare, care, public health or research, consistent with ethical practice and applicable laws and regulations; (e) the health data applicant demonstrates sufficient technical and organisational measures to prevent the misuse of the electronic health data and to protect the rights and interests of the health data holder and of the natural persons concerned; (f) the information on the assessment of ethical aspects of the processing, referred to in Article 67(2), point (j), where applicable, complies with national law; (g) where the health data applicant intends to make use of an exception under Article 71(4), the justification required by national law adopted pursuant to that Article has been provided; (h) all other requirements in this Chapter are fulfilled by the health data applicant. 2. The health data access body shall also take into account the following: (a) risks for national defence, security, public security and public order; (b) the risk of undermining the confidentiality of data in governmental databases of regulatory authorities. 3. Where the health data access body concludes that the requirements in paragraph 1 are fulfilled and the risks referred to in paragraph 2 are sufficiently mitigated, the health data access body shall grant access to electronic health data by issuing a data permit. Health data access bodies shall refuse all health data access applications where the requirements in this Chapter are not fulfilled. Where the requirements for issuing a data permit are not met, but the requirements to provide a response in an anonymised statistical format under Article 69 are, the health data access body may decide to provide such response, on condition that providing that response would mitigate the risks and, if the purpose of the health data access application can be fulfilled in this manner, that the health data applicant agrees to receiving a response in an anonymised statistical format under Article 69. 4. By way of derogation from Regulation (EU) 2022/868, the health data access body shall issue or refuse a data permit within three months of receiving a complete health data access application. If the health data access body finds that the health data access application is incomplete, it shall notify the health data applicant, which shall be given the possibility of completing that application. If the health data applicant does not complete the health data access application within four weeks, the data permit shall not be issued. The health data access body may extend the period for responding to a health data access application by three additional months where necessary, taking into account the urgency and complexity of the health data access application and the volume of health data access applications submitted for decision. In such cases, the health data access body shall notify the health data applicant as soon as possible that more time is needed for examining the health data access application, together with the reasons for the delay. 5. When handling a health data access application for cross-border access to electronic health data referred to in Article 67(3), health data access bodies and relevant authorised participants in HealthData@EU referred to in Article 75 shall remain responsible for adopting decisions to grant or refuse access to electronic health data within their remit in accordance with this Chapter. The health data access bodies and authorised participants in HealthData@EU concerned shall inform each other of their decisions. They may take that information into consideration when deciding on granting or refusing access to electronic health data. A data permit issued by one health data access body may benefit from mutual recognition by the other health data access bodies. 6. Member States shall provide for an accelerated health data access application procedure for public sector bodies and Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies with a legal mandate in the field of public health if the processing of electronic health data is to be carried out for the purposes established in Article 53(1), points (a), (b) and (c). When such accelerated procedure applies, the health data access body shall issue or refuse a data permit within two months of receiving a complete health data access application. The health data access body may extend the period for responding to a health data access application by one additional month where necessary. 7. Following the issuance of the data permit, the health data access body shall immediately request the electronic health data from the health data holder. The health data access body shall make available the electronic health data to the health data user within two months of receiving them from the health data holders, unless the health data access body specifies that the data are to be provided within a longer specified timeframe. 8. In cases referred to in paragraph 5, first subparagraph, of this Article, the health data access bodies and authorised participants in HealthData@EU which issued a data permit or access approval, respectively, may decide to provide access to the electronic health data in the secure processing environment provided by the Commission as referred to in Article 75(9). 9. Where the health data access body refuses to issue a data permit, it shall provide a justification for that refusal to the health data applicant. 10. When issuing a data permit, the health data access body shall set out in that data permit the general conditions applicable to the health data user. The data permit shall contain the following: (a) the categories, specification and format of the electronic health data to be accessed, which are covered by the data permit, including their sources and an indication of whether the electronic health data are to be accessed in a pseudonymised format in the secure processing environment; (b) a detailed description of the purpose for which the electronic health data are made available; (c) where a mechanism to implement an exception is provided for and applicable under Article 71(4), information on whether it has been applied and the reason for the related decision; (d) the identity of authorised persons, in particular the identity of the principal investigator, with access rights to the electronic health data in the secure processing environment; (e) the duration of the data permit; (f) information about the technical characteristics and tools available to the health data user within the secure processing environment; (g) the fees to be paid by the health data user; (h) any specific conditions. 11. Health data users shall have the right to access and process the electronic health data in a secure processing environment in accordance with the data permit issued to them on the basis of this Regulation. 12. A data permit shall be issued for the duration necessary to fulfil the requested purposes and that duration shall not exceed 10 years. That duration may be extended once, for a period which does not exceed 10 years, at the request of the health data user, based on arguments and documents to justify that extension which shall be provided one month before the expiry of the data permit. The health data access body may charge fees which increase to reflect the costs and risks of storing electronic health data for a period exceeding the initial period. In order to reduce such costs and fees, the health data access body may also propose to the health data user to store the dataset in a storage system with reduced capabilities. Such reduced capabilities shall not affect the security of the processed dataset. The electronic health data within the secure processing environment shall be deleted within six months of the expiry of the data permit. At the request of the health data user, the formula for the creation of the requested dataset may be stored by the health data access body. 13. If the data permit needs to be updated, the health data user shall submit a request for an amendment of the data permit. 14. The Commission may, by means of an implementing act, develop a logo for acknowledging the contribution of the EHDS. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2).
Article 69 Health data request
1. The health data applicant may submit a health data request for the purposes referred to in Article 53 with the aim of obtaining a response only in an anonymised statistical format. A health data access body shall not provide a response to a health data request in any other format and the health data user shall have no access to the electronic health data used to provide that response. 2. A health data request as referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following information: (a) the identity of the health data applicant and a description of that health data applicant’s professional functions and activities; (b) a detailed explanation of the intended use of the electronic health data, including the purposes referred to in Article 53(1) for which the health data request is submitted; (c) a description of the requested electronic health data, their format and the sources of those data, where possible; (d) a description of the statistical content; (e) a description of the safeguards planned to prevent any misuse of the requested electronic health data; (f) a description of how the processing would comply with Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or Article 5(1) and Article 10(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725; (g) where the health data applicant intends to make use of an exception under Article 71(4), the justification required in that regard by national law pursuant to that Article. 3. The health data access body shall assess if the health data request is complete and take into account the risks referred to in Article 68(2). 4. The health data access body shall assess the health data request within three months of receipt of the request and, where possible, subsequently provide the response to the health data user within a further three months.
Article 70 Templates to support access to electronic health data for secondary use
By 26 March 2027, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, set out the templates for the health data access application, the data permit and the health data request referred to in Articles 67, 68 and 69, respectively. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2).
Article 71 Right to opt out from the processing of personal electronic health data for secondary use
1. Natural persons shall have the right to opt out at any time, and without providing any reason, from the processing of personal electronic health data relating to them for secondary use under this Regulation. The exercise of that right shall be reversible. 2. Member States shall provide for an accessible and easily understandable opt-out mechanism to exercise the right established in paragraph 1, whereby natural persons may explicitly state that they do not wish to have their personal electronic health data processed for secondary use. 3. Once natural persons have exercised the right to opt out, and where personal electronic health data relating to them can be identified in a dataset, personal electronic health data relating to those natural persons shall not be made available or otherwise processed pursuant to data permits issued under Article 68 or health data requests under Article 69 approved after the natural person has exercised the right to opt out. The first subparagraph of this paragraph shall not affect the processing for secondary use of personal electronic health data relating to those natural persons pursuant to data permits or health data requests that were issued or approved before the natural persons exercised their right to opt out. 4. By way of exception from the right to opt out provided for in paragraph 1, a Member State may provide in its national law for a mechanism to make data for which a right to opt out has been exercised available, provided that all the following conditions are fulfilled: (a) the health data access application or health data request is submitted by a public sector body or a Union institution, body, office or agency with a mandate to carry out tasks in the area of public health, or by another entity entrusted with carrying out public tasks in the area of public health, or acting on behalf of or commissioned by a public authority, and the processing of those data is necessary for any of the following purposes: (i) the purposes referred to in Article 53(1), points (a), (b) and (c); (ii) scientific research for important reasons of public interest; (b) those data cannot be obtained by alternative means in a timely and effective manner under equivalent conditions; (c) the health data applicant has provided the justification referred to in Article 68(1), point (g), or in Article 69(2), point (g). The national law providing for such a mechanism shall provide for specific and suitable measures in order to protect the fundamental rights and the personal data of natural persons. Where a Member State has provided in its national law for the possibility to request access to data for which a right to opt out has been exercised and the conditions referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph are fulfilled, those data may be included when carrying out the tasks under Article 57(1), points (a)(i), (a)(iii) and (b). 5. The rules on any mechanism to implement exceptions provided for under paragraph 4 by way of exception from paragraph 1 shall respect the essence of the fundamental rights and freedoms and shall be a necessary and proportionate measure in a democratic society to fulfil purposes of public interest in the area of legitimate scientific and societal objectives. 6. Any processing carried out in accordance with a mechanism to implement exceptions provided for under paragraph 4 of this Article shall comply with the requirements of this Chapter, in particular the prohibition on re-identifying or attempting to re-identify natural persons in accordance with Article 61(3). Any legislative measure providing for a mechanism in national law as referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall include specific provisions for the safety, and the protection of the rights, of natural persons. 7. Member States shall notify without delay the Commission of the provisions of their national law which they adopt pursuant to paragraph 4 and of any subsequent amendment affecting them. 8. When the purposes of the processing of personal electronic health data by a health data holder do not or no longer require the identification of a data subject by the controller, that health data holder shall not be obliged to maintain, acquire or process additional information in order to identify the data subject for the sole purpose of complying with the right to opt out under this Article.
Article 72 Simplified procedure for access to electronic health data from a trusted health data holder
1. Where a health data access body receives a health data access application pursuant to Article 67 or a health data request pursuant to Article 69 that only covers electronic health data held by a trusted health data holder designated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, the procedure set out in paragraphs 4 to 6 of this Article shall apply. 2. Member States may establish a procedure whereby health data holders can apply to be designated as trusted health data holders, provided the health data holders meet the following conditions: (a) they are able to provide access to health data through a secure processing environment that complies with Article 73; (b) they have the necessary expertise to assess health data access applications and health data requests; (c) they provide the necessary guarantees to ensure compliance with this Regulation. Member States shall designate trusted health data holders following an assessment of the fulfilment of those conditions by the relevant health data access body. Member States shall establish a procedure to regularly review whether the trusted health data holder continues to fulfil those conditions. Health data access bodies shall indicate the trusted health data holders in the dataset catalogue referred to in Article 77. 3. Health data access applications and health data requests referred to in paragraph 1 shall be submitted to the health data access body, which may forward them to the relevant trusted health data holder. 4. Following receipt of a health data access application or health data request pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article, the trusted health data holder shall assess the health data access application or health data request against the criteria listed in Article 68(1) and (2) or Article 69(2) and (3), as applicable. 5. The trusted health data holder shall submit the assessment it carries out pursuant to paragraph 4, accompanied by a proposal for decision, to the health data access body within two months of receipt of the health data access application or health data request from the health data access body. Within two months of receipt of the assessment, the health data access body shall issue a decision on the health data access application or health data request. The health data access body shall not be bound by the proposal submitted by the trusted health data holder. 6. Following the health data access body’s decision to issue the data permit or to approve the health data request, the trusted health data holder shall carry out the tasks referred to in Article 57(1), points (a)(i) and (b). 7. The Union health data access service referred to in Article 56 may designate health data holders that are Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies which comply with the conditions laid down in paragraph 2, first subparagraph, points (a), (b) and (c), of this Article as trusted health data holders. Where it does so, paragraph 2, third and fourth subparagraphs, and paragraphs 3 to 6 of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis .
Article 73 Secure processing environment
1. Health data access bodies shall provide access to electronic health data pursuant to a data permit only through a secure processing environment which is subject to technical and organisational measures and security and interoperability requirements. In particular, the secure processing environment shall comply with the following security measures: (a) the restriction of access to the secure processing environment to authorised natural persons listed in the data permit issued pursuant to Article 68; (b) the minimisation of the risk of the unauthorised reading, copying, modification or removal of electronic health data hosted in the secure processing environment through state-of-the-art technical and organisational measures; (c) the limitation of the input of electronic health data and the inspection, modification or deletion of electronic health data hosted in the secure processing environment to a limited number of authorised identifiable individuals; (d) ensuring that health data users have access only to the electronic health data covered by their data permit, by means of individual and unique user identities and confidential access modes only; (e) the keeping of identifiable logs of access to and activities in the secure processing environment for the period necessary to verify and audit all processing operations in that environment; logs of access shall be kept for at least one year; (f) ensuring compliance and monitoring the security measures referred to in this paragraph to mitigate potential security threats. 2. Health data access bodies shall ensure that electronic health data from health data holders in the format specified in the data permit can be uploaded by those health data holders and can be accessed by the health data user in a secure processing environment. Health data access bodies shall review the electronic health data included in a download request to ensure that health data users are only able to download non-personal electronic health data, including electronic health data in an anonymised statistical format, from the secure processing environment. 3. Health data access bodies shall ensure that audits of the secure processing environments are carried out on a regular basis, including by third parties, and shall take corrective action for any shortcomings, risks or vulnerabilities identified by those audits in the secure processing environments. 4. Where recognised data altruism organisations under Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) 2022/868 process personal electronic health data using a secure processing environment, those environments shall also comply with the security measures set out in paragraph 1, points (a) to (f), of this Article. 5. By 26 March 2027, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, lay down the technical, organisational, information security, confidentiality, data protection and interoperability requirements for the secure processing environments, including with regard to the technical characteristics and tools available to the health data user within the secure processing environments. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2).
Article 74 Controllership
1. The health data holder shall be deemed controller for the making available of personal electronic health data requested pursuant to Article 60(1) to the health data access body. The health data access body shall be deemed controller for the processing of the personal electronic health data when fulfilling its tasks pursuant to this Regulation. Notwithstanding the second subparagraph of this paragraph, the health data access body shall be deemed to act as a processor on behalf of the health data user acting as a controller for the processing of the personal electronic health data pursuant to a data permit issued under Article 68 in the secure processing environment when providing data through such environment or for the processing of such data pursuant to a health data request approved under Article 69 for a response to be generated. 2. In situations referred to in Article 72(6), the trusted health data holder shall be deemed controller for its processing of personal electronic health data related to the provision of electronic health data to the health data user pursuant to a data permit or a health data request. The trusted health data holder shall be deemed to act as a processor on behalf of the health data user when providing data through a secure processing environment. 3. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, establish a template for agreements between controllers and processors under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure set out in Article 98(2).
Article 75 HealthData@EU
1. Each Member State shall designate one national contact point for secondary use. That national contact point for secondary use shall be an organisational and technical gateway, enabling and responsible for the making available of electronic health data for secondary use in a cross-border context. The national contact point for secondary use may be the coordinator health data access body referred to in Article 55(1). Each Member State shall inform the Commission of the name and contact details of the national contact point for secondary use by 26 March 2027. The Commission and the Member States shall make that information publicly available. 2. The Union health data access service shall act as the contact point of the Union’s institutions, bodies, offices and agencies for secondary use and shall be responsible for making electronic health data available for secondary use. 3. The national contact points for secondary use referred to in paragraph 1 and the Union health data access service referred to in paragraph 2 shall connect to the cross-border infrastructure for secondary use, namely HealthData@EU. The national contact points for secondary use and the Union health data access service shall facilitate the cross-border access to electronic health data for secondary use for different authorised participants in HealthData@EU. The national contact points for secondary use shall cooperate closely with each other and with the Commission. 4. Health-related research infrastructures or similar infrastructures whose functioning is based on Union law and which provide support for the use of electronic health data for research, policymaking, statistical, patient safety or regulatory purposes may become authorised participants in HealthData@EU and connect to it. 5. Third countries or international organisations may become authorised participants in HealthData@EU where they comply with the rules of this Chapter and provide access to health data users located in the Union, on equivalent terms and conditions, to the electronic health data available to their health data access bodies, subject to compliance with Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, determine that a national contact point for secondary use of a third country or a system established at international level by an international organisation is compliant with the requirements of HealthData@EU for the purposes of secondary use of health data, is compliant with this Chapter and provides access to health data users located in the Union to the electronic health data it has access to on terms and conditions equivalent to those of HealthData@EU. Compliance with those legal, organisational, technical and security requirements, including with the requirements for secure processing environments provided for in Article 73, shall be checked under the control of the Commission. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). The Commission shall make the list of implementing acts adopted pursuant to this paragraph publicly available. 6. Each national contact point for secondary use and each authorised participant in HealthData@EU shall acquire the required technical capability to connect to and participate in HealthData@EU. They shall comply with the requirements and technical specifications needed to operate HealthData@EU and to allow them to connect to it. 7. The Member States and the Commission shall set up HealthData@EU to support and facilitate the cross-border access to electronic health data for secondary use, connecting the national contact points for secondary use and authorised participants in HealthData@EU and the central platform referred to in paragraph 8. 8. The Commission shall develop, deploy and operate a central platform for HealthData@EU by providing information technology services needed to support and facilitate the exchange of information between health data access bodies as part of HealthData@EU. The Commission shall only process electronic health data on behalf of the controllers as a processor. 9. Where requested by two or more national contact points for secondary use, the Commission may provide a secure processing environment which is compliant with the requirements of Article 73 for data from more than one Member State. Where two or more national contact points for secondary use or authorised participants in HealthData@EU put electronic health data in the secure processing environment managed by the Commission, they shall be joint controllers and the Commission shall be processor for the purpose of processing data in that environment. 10. The national contact points for secondary use shall act as joint controllers of the processing operations carried out in HealthData@EU in which they are involved and the Commission shall act as processor on behalf of those national contact points for secondary use, without affecting the tasks of health data access bodies prior to and following those processing operations. 11. Member States and the Commission shall seek to ensure that HealthData@EU is interoperable with other relevant common European data spaces as referred to in Regulations (EU) 2022/868 and (EU) 2023/2854. 12. By 26 March 2027, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, set out: (a) requirements, technical specifications and the IT architecture of HealthData@EU, which shall ensure state-of-the-art data security, confidentiality, and protection of electronic health data in HealthData@EU; (b) conditions and compliance checks required to be able to join and remain connected to HealthData@EU and conditions for temporary disconnection or definitive exclusion from HealthData@EU, including specific provisions for cases of serious misconduct or repeated infringements; (c) the minimum criteria that need to be met by the national contact points for secondary use and the authorised participants in HealthData@EU; (d) the responsibilities of the controllers and processors participating in HealthData@EU; (e) the responsibilities of the controllers and processors for the secure processing environment managed by the Commission; (f) common specifications for the architecture of HealthData@EU and for its interoperability with other common European data spaces. The implementing acts referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2). 13. Where there is a positive outcome of the compliance check referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, the Commission may, by means of implementing acts, take decisions to connect individual authorised participants to HealthData@EU. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2).
Article 76 Access to cross-border registries or databases of electronic health data for secondary use
1. In the case of cross-border registries and databases, the health data access body with which the health data holder for the specific registry or database is registered shall be competent to decide on health data access applications to provide access to electronic health data pursuant to a data permit. Where such registries or databases have joint controllers, the health data access body that decides on the health data access applications to be used to provide access to electronic health data shall be the health data access body of the Member State where one of the joint controllers is established. 2. Where registries or databases from a number of Member States organise themselves into a single network of registries or databases at Union level, the associated registries or databases may designate a coordinator to ensure the provision of data from the registries’ or databases’ network for secondary use. The health data access body of the Member State in which the coordinator of the network is established shall be competent to decide on the health data access applications to be used to provide access to electronic health data for the network of registries or databases.
Article 77 Dataset description and dataset catalogue
1. Health data access bodies shall, through a publicly available and standardised machine-readable dataset catalogue, provide a description in the form of metadata of the available datasets and their characteristics. The description of each dataset shall include information concerning the source, scope, main characteristics, and nature of the electronic health data in the dataset and the conditions for making those data available. 2. The dataset descriptions in the national dataset catalogue shall be available in at least one official language of the Union. The dataset catalogue for Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies provided by the Union health data access service shall be available in all official languages of the Union. 3. The dataset catalogue shall be made available to single information points established or designated under Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2022/868. 4. By 26 March 2027, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, set out the minimum elements health data holders are to provide for datasets and the characteristics of those elements. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2).
Article 78 Data quality and utility label
1. Datasets made available through health data access bodies may have a Union data quality and utility label applied by the health data holders. 2. Datasets with electronic health data collected and processed with the support of Union or national public funding shall have a data quality and utility label covering the elements set out in paragraph 3. 3. The data quality and utility label shall cover the following elements, where applicable: (a) for data documentation: metadata, support documentation, the data dictionary, the format and standards used, the source of the data and, where applicable, the data model; (b) for assessment of technical quality: the completeness, uniqueness, accuracy, validity, timeliness and consistency of the data; (c) for data quality management processes: the level of maturity of the data quality management processes, including review and audit processes, and bias examination; (d) for assessment of coverage: the period, population coverage and, where applicable, representativity of the population sampled, and the average timeframe in which a natural person appears in a dataset; (e) for information on access and provision: the time between the collection of the electronic health data and their addition to the dataset and the time needed to provide electronic health data following the issuing of a data permit or a health data request approval; (f) for information on data modifications: merging and adding data to an existing dataset, including links with other datasets. 4. Where a health data access body has reason to believe that a data quality and utility label might be inaccurate, it shall assess whether the dataset covered by the label meets the quality requirements forming part of the elements of the data quality and utility label as referred to in paragraph 3 and, in the event the dataset does not meet the quality requirements, shall revoke the label. 5. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 97 to amend this Regulation by modifying, adding or removing elements to be covered by the data quality and utility label provided for in paragraph 3 of this Article. 6. By 26 March 2027, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, set out the visual characteristics and technical specifications of the data quality and utility label, based on the elements referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2) of this Regulation. Those implementing acts shall take into account the requirements in Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 and any adopted common specifications or harmonised standards supporting those requirements, where applicable.
Article 79 EU dataset catalogue
1. The Commission shall establish an EU dataset catalogue connecting the national dataset catalogues established by the health data access bodies in each Member State as well as the dataset catalogues of authorised participants in HealthData@EU. 2. The EU dataset catalogue, the national dataset catalogues and the dataset catalogues of authorised participants in HealthData@EU shall be made publicly available.
Article 80 Minimum specifications for datasets of high impact
The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, determine the minimum specifications for datasets of high impact for secondary use, taking into account existing Union infrastructures, standards, guidelines and recommendations. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2).
Article 81 Right to lodge a complaint with a health data access body
1. Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, natural and legal persons shall have the right to lodge a complaint in relation to the provisions laid down in this Chapter, individually or, where relevant, collectively, with a health data access body, provided that their rights or interests are negatively affected. 2. The health data access body with which the complaint has been lodged shall inform the complainant of the progress made in dealing with the complaint and of the decision taken on the complaint. 3. Health data access bodies shall provide easily accessible tools for the submission of complaints. 4. Where the complaint concerns the rights of natural persons pursuant to Article 71 of this Regulation, the complaint shall be transmitted to the competent supervisory authority under Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The relevant health data access body shall provide the necessary information at its disposal to that supervisory authority under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 in order to facilitate the assessment and investigation of the complaint.
Article 82 Capacity building
The Commission shall support the sharing of best practices and expertise to build capacity within Member States to strengthen digital health systems for primary use and secondary use taking into account the specific circumstances of the different categories of stakeholders involved. To support that capacity building, the Commission shall in close cooperation and consultation with Member States establish indicators for self-assessment for primary use and secondary use.
Article 83 Training programmes and information for health professionals
1. Member States shall develop and implement or provide access to training programmes and provide access to information for health professionals in order for them to understand and effectively carry out their role in the primary use of and in the accessing of electronic health data, including in relation to Articles 11, 13 and 16. The Commission shall support Member States in that regard. 2. The training programmes and information shall be accessible to and affordable for all health professionals, without prejudice to the organisation of healthcare systems at national level.
Article 84 Digital health literacy and digital health access
1. Member States shall promote and support digital health literacy and the development of relevant competences and skills for patients. The Commission shall support Member States in this regard. Awareness-raising campaigns or programmes shall aim, in particular, to inform patients and the public at large about primary use and secondary use in the framework of the EHDS, including the rights arising from it, as well as the advantages, risks and potential gains for science and society of primary use and secondary use. 2. The awareness-raising campaigns and programmes referred to in paragraph 1 shall be tailored to the needs of specific groups and shall be developed, reviewed and, where necessary, updated. 3. Member States shall promote access to the infrastructure necessary for the effective management of natural persons’ electronic health data, both for primary use and secondary use.
Article 85 Additional requirements for public procurement and Union funding
1. Contracting authorities, including digital health authorities and health data access bodies and Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, shall make reference to the applicable technical specifications, standards and profiles as referred to in Articles 15, 23, 36, 73, 75 and 78 for public procurement procedures and when formulating their tender documents or calls for proposals, as well as when defining the conditions for Union funding regarding this Regulation, including enabling conditions for the structural and cohesion funds. 2. The criteria for obtaining funding from the Union shall take into account the requirements developed in the framework of Chapters II, III and IV.
Article 86 Storage of personal electronic health data for primary use
In accordance with the general principles of Union law, which include the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Member States shall ensure that a particularly high level of protection and security is in place when processing personal electronic health data for primary use, by means of appropriate technical and organisational measures. In this respect, this Regulation shall not preclude a requirement under national law, taking into account the national context, that, in cases where personal electronic health data are processed by healthcare providers for the provision of healthcare or by the national contact points for digital health connected to MyHealth@EU, the storage of personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14 of this Regulation for the purpose of primary use be located within the Union, in compliance with Union law and international commitments.
Article 87 Storage of personal electronic health data by health data access bodies and secure processing environments
1. Health data access bodies, trusted health data holders and the Union health data access service shall store and process personal electronic health data in the Union when performing pseudonymisation, anonymisation and any other personal data processing operations referred to in Articles 67 to 72, through secure processing environments within the meaning of Article 73 and Article 75(9) or through HealthData@EU. That requirement shall apply to any entity performing those tasks on behalf of such bodies, holders or service. 2. By way of exception from paragraph 1 of this Article, the data referred to in that paragraph may be stored and processed in a third country, or a territory or one or more specified sectors within that third country, where such country, territory or sector is covered by an adequacy decision adopted pursuant to Article 45 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
Article 88 Third-country transfer of non-personal electronic data
1. Non-personal electronic health data made available by health data access bodies to a health data user in a third country under a data permit issued pursuant to Article 68 of this Regulation or a health data request approved pursuant to Article 69 of this Regulation, to authorised participants in a third country or to an international organisation, and based on a natural person’s electronic health data falling within one of the categories referred to in Article 51 of this Regulation, shall be deemed highly sensitive within the meaning of Article 5(13) of Regulation (EU) 2022/868 where the transfer of such non-personal electronic data to third countries presents a risk of re-identification through means going beyond those reasonably likely to be used, in particular in view of the limited number of natural persons to whom those data relate, the fact that they are geographically scattered or the technological developments expected in the near future. 2. The protective measures for the categories of data mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be detailed in a delegated act referred to in Article 5(13) of Regulation (EU) 2022/868.
Article 89 International governmental access to non-personal electronic health data
1. Digital health authorities, health data access bodies, authorised participants in the cross-border infrastructures provided for in Articles 23 and 75 and health data users shall take all reasonable technical, legal and organisational measures, including contractual arrangements, in order to prevent the transfer of non-personal electronic health data held in the Union to a third country or an international organisation, including for governmental access in a third country, where such transfer would create a conflict with Union law or the national law of the relevant Member State. 2. Any judgment of a third-country court or tribunal and any decision of a third-country administrative authority requiring a digital health authority, health data access body or health data users to transfer or give access to non-personal electronic health data within the scope of this Regulation held in the Union shall be recognised or enforceable in any manner only if based on an international agreement, such as a mutual legal assistance treaty, in force between the requesting third country and the Union, or any such agreement between the requesting third country and a Member State. 3. In the absence of an international agreement as referred to in paragraph 2, where a digital health authority, a health data access body or a health data user is the addressee of a decision or judgment of a third-country court or tribunal or of a decision of a third-country administrative authority requiring them to transfer or to give access to non-personal data within the scope of this Regulation held in the Union, and compliance with such a decision or judgment would risk putting the addressee in conflict with Union law or with the national law of the relevant Member State, the transfer to, or accessing of such data by, that third-country court, tribunal or administrative authority shall only take place or be provided where: (a) the third-country legal system requires the reasons and proportionality of such a decision or judgment to be set out and requires such a decision or judgment to be specific in character, for instance by establishing a sufficient link to certain suspected persons or infringements; (b) the reasoned objection of the addressee is subject to a review by a competent third-country court or tribunal; and (c) the competent third-country court or tribunal issuing the decision or judgment or reviewing the decision of an administrative authority is empowered by the national law of the third country to take duly into account the relevant legal interests of the provider of the data protected under Union law or the national law of the relevant Member State. 4. If the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 or 3 are met, a digital health authority, a health data access body or a data altruism organisation shall provide the minimum amount of data permissible in response to a request, based on a reasonable interpretation of the request. 5. The digital health authorities, health data access bodies and health data users shall inform the health data holder about the existence of a request of a third-country administrative authority to access its data before complying with that request, except where the request serves law enforcement purposes and for as long as compliance is necessary to preserve the effectiveness of the law enforcement activity.
Article 90 Additional conditions for transfer of personal electronic health data to a third country or an international organisation
Transfer of personal electronic health data to a third country or an international organisation shall be granted in accordance with Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Member States may maintain or introduce further conditions on international access to, and transfer of, personal electronic health data, including limitations, in accordance with Article 9(4) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, in addition to the requirements laid down in Article 24(3) and Article 75(5) of this Regulation and in Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.