Your doctor in Italy, your specialist in Germany, and your GP at home may all need access to the same health information. Who controls it, and how much of this actually works today?
What the European Health Data Space Actually Is
The European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation, (EU) 2025/327, entered into force on March 26, 2025. It establishes a common EU framework for individuals to access, control, and share their own electronic health data — and separately, a framework for researchers and regulators to use health data for research and policy purposes under strict conditions. Under the EHDS, individuals are meant to be able to access their health data promptly, obtain it in portable digital formats, control which professionals can access it, and benefit from cross-border exchange through a shared EU infrastructure called MyHealth@EU.
The Timeline: This Is Not Fully Operational Yet
This is the detail that matters most right now: the EHDS's headline promise — that your patient summary and ePrescriptions will be accessible and exchangeable across all 27 member states — does not become a legal requirement until March 2029. A second group of data categories (medical imaging, lab results, hospital discharge reports) follows by March 2031. In the meantime, healthcare providers and electronic health record vendors were required to certify their systems for interoperability and security compliance by January 2026, and MyHealth@EU coverage is expanding country by country rather than being simultaneously available everywhere — several member states are still actively building their National Contact Points for eHealth as of 2026, not yet fully connected.
In practice, this means the experience of a doctor in one EU country instantly seeing your records from another is currently possible only where both countries have already connected to MyHealth@EU for that specific data category — it is not yet a universal guarantee.
Your Rights Over Your Own Data Under the EHDS
Regardless of how complete the cross-border infrastructure is today, the EHDS establishes patient-centric rights that apply as implementation proceeds: the ability to access your own electronic health data, obtain it in portable formats, request rectification of inaccurate data, and control which healthcare professionals can access it. These access and control rights are separate from the cross-border exchange timeline — they're being phased in as national systems become compliant, not held back entirely until 2029.
What This Means Practically
- Don't assume your medical records will automatically be visible to a doctor in another EU country yet — full cross-border exchange isn't required until March 2029, and coverage today is genuinely uneven.
- If you're travelling or receiving care abroad now, ask specifically whether the country and provider are connected to MyHealth@EU for the type of data you need shared — don't assume it, confirm it.
- Your right to access and request correction of your own health data applies regardless of the cross-border timeline — exercise it directly with whichever provider holds your records.
- Expect this infrastructure to keep expanding over the next several years — what isn't available today in your country may be by 2029.
Related Kibbo Tools
Sources
- EY — Regulation (EU) 2025/327 establishing the EHDS. ey.com
- European Commission — Electronic cross-border health services (MyHealth@EU). health.ec.europa.eu