Nowadays medical knowledge sharing is possible at unpreceded levels. This session focused on the importance of interoperability for unlocking the potential of digital health, more specifically in allowing digital health technologies to share data in ways that optimise the health of the population. The participants disovered more about the contact tracing apps, their benefits in limiting the spread of corona virus, together with the interoperability solution for mobile tracing and warning apps that Member States agreed on.

In the same time, the lecture presented the exchange of e-Prescriptions and Patient Summaries, two electronic cross-border health services are currently progressively introduced in all EU countries.

Watch the recording and discover how EU countries could exchange health data in a secure, efficient and interoperable way.

Speakers:

• Ceri Thompson, Deputy Head of Unit, DG CONNECT H3 eHealth, well-being, ageing

Ceri Thompson is Deputy Head of the eHealth, Well-Being and Ageing Unit in DG CNECT. Ceri worked previously on international cooperation for Eurostat, and on health issues in DG SANTE. Before joining the EU institutions, Ceri worked on global health policy at the UK’s Department for International Development, and for KPMG’s International Health Care management consultancy practice in London. She started her career working on a large, epidemiological field research project in Fortaleza, North East Brazil.

She studied mathematics at Durham University (UK). She has an MSc (medical statistics / epidemiology) and a DrPH (health economics) both from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

• Ioana-Maria Gligor, Head of Unit, DG SANTE B3 European Reference Networks and Digital Health 

Ioana Gligor is Head of Unit in DG  SANTE, responsible for European Reference Networks and Digital Health. Ioana worked previously on health issues in DG Employment, with a focus on the European Semester and European Social Fund. Before joining DG SANTE, she worked in the Secretariat General of the European Commission, in DG Employment and Social Affairs and she started her career in European Institutions in the Cabinet of Commissioner Orban. Before joining the EU institutions, Ioana worked in the Romanian Ministry of European Integration and was spokesperson for the Chief Negotiator with the EU.

She studied political sciences and EU affairs, with a specialisation at the College of Europe in the law and economics of internal market. She has a PhD in international relations.

• Karima Bourquard, Director of Interoperability, Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise Europe

Title of the presentation: Cross Border health data Exchange - ePrescriptions and Patient Summaries

Karima Bourquard, PhD is IHE-Europe Director of Interoperability and Senior Consultant founder of IN-SYSTEM (France). She has worked on several EU projects such as epSOS and eHDSI (eHealth Digital Services Infrastructure), Antilope, EURO-CAS (see here) and CEN IPS (International Patient Summary) standard . IHE-Europe is a non-for-profit European Association dedicated to the promotion of interoperability in healthcare. She worked previously at the GMSIH, a French national centre of competences for hospital IT and EHR, responsible for the development of the interoperability in eHealth and of organisational and technical frameworks for IT components in hospitals.

• Filippo Pierozzi, International Relations Officer MID

Title of the presentation: In varietate concordia: Italy's Digital Response to COVID-19 and contact tracing apps interoperability

Filippo Pierozzi is an adviser at the Department for Digital Transformation of the Italian Government, where he works on international and European affairs. He has previously worked at SAP's EU office in Brussels and he started his career as a trainee at the European Commission, DG CONNECT. He studied political science as an honors student at Sant’Anna School in Pisa (Italy) and specialised in EU and international relations at the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium).

• Diogo Martins, EU/International Digital Health Projects Coordinator

Title of the presentation:Today’s and Future - eHealth interoperability landscape and cross-border healthcare

Diogo Martins, MD, Graduated in Health Equipment and Technology, academic background consists on Electronics, ICT & Medical Devices. Holds a MD in Healthcare Information Systems Management obtained in partnership between the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (IPL) and Faculty of Medicine of Oporto (FMUP) with thesis a in eHealth field: “Impact of using mobile handheld technology in health care delivery: a Systematic review”.

He has worked as Medical devices consultant, key account manager and as ICT Project Manager in SPMS, working on Healthcare data sharing – Radiology and DICOM Imaging; Infrastructure for Healthcare data sharing - XDS, IHE and Telemedicine Platform. Most recently he coordinates (X-eHealth, eHAction and HEALTHeID) and actively participates in more than 10 EU projects in the Digital Health related to Patient Empowerment, Innovative use of Health data, Interoperability and eHealth Sustainability. He has been able to make a “bridge” between ICT expertise and how important is to engage Healthcare professionals and citizens to ensure healthcare enhancements. Currently he works at SPMS and is responsible for the International Projects as well as and International Cooperation.

Background information

This session is part of the CONNECT University Autumn School on Digital Health open for everyone. Check the full programme.