in content lists or on the content page.
Held on 26 September 2024 in Helsinki, the forum highlighted the value of a platform where ministerial and governmental stakeholders can jointly prepare for the secondary use of health data Secondary use of health and social data The secondary use of health and social data means that the customer and register data created during health and social service sector activities will be used for purposes other than the primary reason for which they were originally saved. The secondary uses referred to in the Act in Finland include: scientific research, statistics, development and innovation activities, steering and supervision of authorities, planning and reporting duties by authorities, teaching, knowledge management. Open term page Secondary use of health and social data for research, innovation and policymaking within the European Health Data Space (EHDS) framework.
A platform for knowledge exchange
The forum brought together 40 invited experts from ministries, governmental authorities and agencies across the five Nordic countries to share knowledge and coordinate national preparatory actions for the upcoming EHDS legislation.
Country representatives presented updates on their EHDS preparations, sharing insights on implementation and challenges. These presentations were followed by joint discussions that promoted cross-border collaboration.
Participants then engaged in interactive and hands-on breakout sessions covering various topics, including:
- data application processing, providing access to data and Secure Processing Environment (SPE) for analysis of health data;
- metadata catalogue for making health data findable;
- national legislation in relation to the EHDS regulation.
Moving forward
The very successful first Nordic EHDS2 Competence Forum was organised by the Swedish eHealth Agency, Sitra and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
These competence forums are an essential part of the Value from Nordic health data (VALO) project and will be continued to support Nordic countries in maintaining a leading role in the secondary use of health data. The second invitation-only Competence Forum is scheduled for February.
How to get involved?
Open stakeholder events are planned for May and October 2025. More details about these will be published on the VALO website.
The VALO project is fully funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
