InteropEHRate · Project

Cross-Border Patient Health Data Exchange Controlled by Citizens, Even Without Internet

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Imagine your medical records are locked in different filing cabinets across Europe, and no one — including you — can easily move them between doctors. InteropEHRate built smartphone tools that let patients carry their own health data on their phone and share it directly with any doctor or researcher, even offline using short-range wireless — like digital Bluetooth for medical records. Everything stays encrypted and under the patient's control, compliant with EU privacy rules. The system also auto-translates medical data into the doctor's language and standard format, so a Greek hospital can read records created in Germany.

By the numbers

consortium partners across Europe

countries represented in the consortium

European countries where user scenarios were validated

pilot sites with real EHR system connectors

total project deliverables produced

demonstrated software components

SMEs in the consortium

percent industry partners in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Healthcare providers and digital health companies across Europe cannot easily exchange patient records across borders. Data sits in isolated systems, patients have no control over their own health information, and GDPR makes centralized data sharing legally complex. This blocks continuity of care for mobile EU citizens and limits access to real-world health data for clinical research.

The solution

What was built

The project built a complete software stack for citizen-controlled health data exchange: encrypted mobile libraries for D2D (device-to-device) data transfer without internet, consent management and identity verification tools, a health record data index, a message broker for EHR exchange, a data integration platform for healthcare professionals, anonymization tools for research data sharing, and multi-language medical data translation — all based on HL7 FHIR. These were deployed as pilots at 3 sites across 6 European countries with real EHR system connectors.

Audience

Who needs this

EHR software vendors looking to add cross-border data exchange capabilitiesMobile health app developers building personal health record platformsHospital IT departments managing multi-country patient populationsContract research organizations needing GDPR-compliant patient data accessHealth insurance companies operating across European markets

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Hospital IT & Health Information Systems

enterprise

Target: EHR software vendors and hospital IT departments

If you are a hospital IT vendor struggling with cross-border patient data exchange — this project developed open-source libraries for device-to-device health record transfer using HL7 FHIR profiles, tested across 3 pilot sites in 6 European countries. The encrypted communication and consent management libraries let patients share records directly with your system without cloud dependency or complex cross-border agreements.

Digital Health & mHealth

SME

Target: Mobile health app developers and PHR platform companies

If you are a mobile health company building personal health record apps — this project delivered production-ready libraries for encrypted storage, identity management, and data anonymization on mobile devices. The D2D (device-to-device) protocol lets your app exchange health data peer-to-peer without internet, a key differentiator for rural or emergency settings. Validated with citizens across 6 European countries.

Clinical Research & Pharma

enterprise

Target: Contract research organizations and pharma companies running multi-country trials

If you are a CRO or pharma company collecting patient data across borders — this project built libraries for research health data sharing with built-in anonymization and aggregation tools. The consent management system gives patients control over what data they share for research, solving your GDPR compliance headaches while enabling access to real-world health data from multiple countries.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to integrate these libraries into our existing system?

The project produced open-source software libraries (encrypted storage, consent management, identity management, data exchange — all with multiple release versions). As an RIA project, results are typically available under open licenses. Integration costs depend on your existing architecture, but the HL7 FHIR compliance means standard interfaces. Contact the coordinator for licensing details.

Can this work at the scale of a national health system?

The system was validated across 3 pilot sites in 6 European countries with real institutional connectors to local EHR databases. The architecture uses edge computing and device-to-device protocols, which inherently scale since processing happens on user devices rather than central servers. The 17-partner consortium with 7 industry partners built the infrastructure for multi-country deployment.

Who owns the intellectual property?

The project was coordinated by Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA (Italy), a major IT services company. As a publicly funded RIA project, IP is typically shared among the 17 consortium partners. Specific licensing terms for the 21 demonstrated software components should be discussed directly with the coordinator.

Is this compliant with GDPR and EU health data regulations?

GDPR compliance was a core design requirement. The project built decentralized authorization based on citizen consent, data accountability, and provenance traceability. The consent management libraries (released in V1 and V2) handle patient authorization, while the anonymization tools enable research data sharing without exposing personal information.

How mature are the software components?

Most core libraries went through 2-3 release cycles (V1, V2, V3), indicating iterative development and refinement. The project delivered 96 total deliverables including 21 demonstrated software components. Pilots were deployed and tested at 3 sites with connectors to real local EHR systems.

Can this integrate with our existing EHR system?

Yes — the project specifically built connectors between InteropEHRate services and local EHR systems, plus mapping tools to translate between local database schemas and the InteropEHRate HL7 FHIR profile. The data integration platform and mapping/conversion tools were released in multiple versions.

Is there ongoing support or a community?

The project ended in September 2022. Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA, a large Italian IT company, coordinated the work. Based on available project data, the project website (interopehrate.eu) and the open-source libraries remain accessible. Long-term support depends on the coordinator's commercialization plans.

Consortium

Who built it

The 17-partner consortium spans 7 countries (AT, BE, CY, DE, EL, IT, RO) with a strong 41% industry ratio — well above average for health research projects. The coordinator, Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA, is one of Italy's largest IT companies with deep healthcare digitization experience, which signals serious commercialization intent. With 7 industry partners and 5 SMEs alongside 3 universities and 4 research organizations, the consortium balances technical innovation with market-readiness. The mix of Southern, Central, and Eastern European partners ensures the solution was tested across different national health system architectures, making it more adaptable for any European market.

ENGINEERING - INGEGNERIA INFORMATICA SPACoordinator · IT
FEDERATION EUROPEENNE DES ASSOCIATIONS INFIRMIERES AISBLparticipant · BE
EUROPEAN HEALTH TELEMATICS ASSOCIATIONparticipant · BE
UNIVERSITAT WIENparticipant · AT
SOFTWARE IMAGINATION AND VISION SRLparticipant · RO
FONDAZIONE TOSCANA GABRIELE MONASTERIO PER LA RICERCA MEDICA E DI SANITA PUBBLICAparticipant · IT
DIAGNOSTIKON KAI THERAPEFTIKON KENTRON ATHINON YGEIA ANONYMOS ETAIREIAparticipant · EL
UBITECH LIMITEDparticipant · CY
UNIVERSITY OF PIRAEUS RESEARCH CENTERparticipant · EL
EUROSOFT DEVELOPMENT SAparticipant · RO
BYTE COMPUTER ANONYMI VIOMICHANIKIEMPORIKI ETAIREIAparticipant · EL
CENTRE HOSPITALIER UNIVERSITAIRE DE LIEGEparticipant · BE
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TRENTOparticipant · IT
A7 SOFTWAREparticipant · BE

How to reach the team

Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA (Italy) — a major IT services company. SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction to the technical team.

Order a report on this consortium See ENGINEERING - INGEGNERIA INFORMATICA SPA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to integrate citizen-controlled health data exchange into your product? We can connect you with the InteropEHRate technical team and help you evaluate which of the 21 software components fit your architecture. Contact SciTransfer for a tailored briefing.

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