EIT Health-backed initiative on data in healthcare is launched at the European Patients’ Forum Congress

The initiative was announced on the opening day of the EPF Congress, the first-ever European congress on patient involvement, driven by leading representatives of the patient community and patient experts. EIT Health’s participation in the event also includes EIT Health CEO Jan-Philipp Beck’s appearance as an expert panelist for the session: “Patient involvement – presenting the evidence”.

About Data Saves Lives

Data Saves Lives aims to raise wider patient and public awareness about the importance of health data and to improve understanding of how it is used. The initiative will establish a trusted environment for multi-stakeholder dialogue about responsible data use and good practices across Europe, while empowering patients and healthcare professionals to realise the potential of new sources of data and digital technologies.

“Europe is facing significant healthcare challenges driven by an ageing population and increased prevalence of chronic diseases. Data Saves Lives can help meet these challenges by creating an understanding of the health interventions that make the most difference to patients,” said Nicola Bedlington, Special Advisor and former General Secretary of the EPF.

The long-term vision of “Data Saves Lives” is to create a Europe where patients, care givers and citizens are informed about and involved in responsible health data sharing, leading to trust, more effective research, improved healthcare and better outcomes. To this end, the initiative plans to unite the health data community to encourage meaningful dialogue and provide the latest insights. The initiative’s European health data website has the goal of building awareness and understanding of why health data is important and how it is used. In addition, a network of national health data ambassadors will soon be on hand to promote the responsible use of health data across Europe.

EIT Health Think Tank: Big Data

The topic of big data was the focus of the 2018 EIT Health Think Tank topic, and the support of Data Saves Lives follows this initiative. The EIT Health Think Tank is a forum for experts and thought leaders working in collaboration to shape the future of healthcare in Europe by identifying the barriers and opportunities that will either aid or impede the widespread adoption and uptake of healthcare innovation. Throughout 2018, the Think Tank implemented research, interviews and central and regional Round Table discussions to investigate the possibilities of Big Data in Healthcare innovations, and produced a report on the findings.