Member of the WHO/Europe SPI-DDH
WHO/Europe Strategic Partners’ Initiative for Data and Digital Health
The Strategic Partners’ Initiative for Data and Digital Health (SPI-DDH) is a collaboration network led by WHO/Europe that brings together the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region and leading partners in the fields of data and digital health. The SPI-DDH aims to tackle issues related to the digital transformation of health systems and foster a future where all people, patients, and health-care workers can benefit from safe, affordable, and person-centred digital technologies for health.
Effective use of health data allows for more accurate diagnoses, personalized treatment plans and evidence-based decision-making. Data analytics and artificial intelligence can equip health-care providers to better prevent and treat diseases, while also empowering people to manage their own health and well-being.
The SPI-DDH is a unique meeting point for innovators, governments, academia, and civil society to convene and address the critical issues surrounding efforts to bring digital innovation into national health systems. The initiative also welcomes participation from patient advocacy groups and health-care providers.
Key objectives of the SPI-DDH include:
- identifying actions to improve the uptake of safe and equitable digital health solutions;
- supporting collaborations that promote solidarity in digital health care;
- providing an independent space for countries to learn and engage with external partners in exploring data and digital health solutions; and
- developing future scenarios for health-care delivery and data usage in the European Region that can be used to inform further transformation of health systems and support the health workforce.
Over 100 representatives of Member States, intergovernmental, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, WHO collaborating centres for data and digital health, the private sector, and academic institutions have joined the SPI-DDH.
The SPI-DDH has been established in line with the Regional digital health action plan for the WHO European Region 2023–2030 and the WHO global strategy on digital health 2020–2025.
IEEE Global Initiatives
Standard Framework for Secure, Compliant, Coordinated, and Inclusive Healthcare Data Recycling
IEEE SA P3493.1™ - Founder and Chair, Dr Dimitrios Kalogeropoulos, CEO Global Health & Digital Innovation Foundation
Scope: This standard establishes a framework for Secure, Compliant, Coordinated, and Inclusive Healthcare Data Recycling (SCCI-HDR) for the cancer care use case. HDR facilitates the coordinated sharing of comprehensive clinical data throughout the patient care experience, helping to ensure the development of a cohesive data set reflective of care context and outcomes. The framework encompasses: 1) standardized terminology, 2) a conceptual information model incorporating metadata, and supports the seamless integration of various data sources like electronic medical records, medical devices, and telehealth applications.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to streamline the repurposing of healthcare data for secondary use in clinical research and other healthcare applications. It provides context-sensitive information to diverse collaborators, facilitating the identification of patient-specific care needs to deliver individualized services. The goal is to help ensure access to properly labeled, tested, and evaluated datasets for use in clinical research and healthcare delivery. The standard also supports the creation of secure ‘sandbox ecosystems’ for developing and testing digital health functionalities like Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI for Improved Public Health and Climate-Resilient Health Systems
IC24-015-01 - Founder and Chair, Dr Dimitrios Kalogeropoulos, CEO Global Health & Digital Innovation Foundation
The IEEE Standards Association AI for Improved Public Health and Climate-Resilient Health Systems (CRHS) Industry Connections Program (IC24-015) convenes a multidisciplinary group of participants to openly collaborate and develop solutions that will demonstrate Generative AI’s role in advancing inclusive, equitable healthcare by fostering community engagement and digital autonomy.
The group meets virtually to collaborate on projects and eventually make recommendations for global technical standards.
Climate impact resilience (CIR) is a key focus area.
Public Policy - IEEE
IEEE SA Global Registry of Mobile Health Applications
IEEE SA Global Registry of Mobile Health Applications
Advancing Equitable Innovation in Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence
AI in precision medicine holds transformative potential for healthcare, enhancing care outcomes and workforce support. However, disparities in digital health adoption and in access and quality of data undermine equitable access and trust. The European Health Data Space (EHDS) and the AI Act present an unprecedented opportunity to address some of these challenges through integrative data governance (IDG). By enabling secure, equitable, and effective health data use, IDG can power AI-driven preventive care through collaborative innovation.
However, some gaps remain to tap into this potential. Key actions include establishing technical standards to promote digital autonomy, improve individual and collective consent processes for data reuse, creating governance frameworks to foster collaboration at scale, aligning different pieces of legislation as well as readiness across member states, and utilizing evidence sandboxes to enhance transparency, safeguard data quality, and protect copyright.
As the EHDS and AI Act come into force, these principles and actions can bridge clinical applications and public health, fostering equitable, anticipatory healthcare for everyone in the EU through multi-stakeholder collaboration.
The following recommendations are proposed:
- Funding Programs: Design and deploy funding programs to support collaborative initiatives that streamline regulatory compliance and the clinical trials industry, enabling digital health autonomy.
- Standards: Develop and adopt technical standards and related frameworks to foster inclusive, patient-centred collaboration, enhancing the translation of precision medicine research into personalised healthcare technologies.
- Collaboration Ecosystem: Implement collaborative initiatives to empower patients and enable broad stakeholder participation through ‘sandbox-based’ principles and actions that accelerate healthcare innovation.
IEEE European Public Policy Committee, Editor Dr Dimitrios Kalogeropoulos, CEO Global Health & Digital Innovation Foundation
IEEE SA Global Registry of Mobile Health Applications
IEEE SA Global Registry of Mobile Health Applications
IEEE SA Global Registry of Mobile Health Applications
Ethics Subcommittee is Chaired by Dr Dimitrios Kalogeropoulos, CEO Global Health & Digital Innovation Foundation
The IEEE SA is assembling an international, multi-disciplinary expert advisor committee for the development of a global standardized mobile app registry for apps intended for clinical care and therapeutic uses. The global standardized registry will serve as a directory of apps that have attested and been assessed for satisfying the established set of criteria required to attain an IEEE standard identifier for inclusion in the registry. The multi-point criteria will be developed and built with consensus by a diverse group of expert committee members. An IEEE standardized registry identifiers indicates to all stakeholders that the app developer has attested to consensus-developed criteria and has been assigned a standardized identifier.
Our CEO is a founding member of the global advisory committee and Chairs the Ethics Subcommittee.
The Ethics Subcommittee is dedicated to establishing and implementing a robust set of ethics criteria that reflect the regulatory and design requirements essential for mobile health applications. Our mission is to help developers, users and regulators of digital health technology navigate the expansive landscape between unregulated wellness apps and high-risk medical devices by fostering a structured, evidence-based ecosystem that promotes safety, efficacy, and ethical integrity. Through collaboration with stakeholders across healthcare, technology, and policy domains, we aim to facilitate trust, transparency, and responsible innovation.