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The Value from Nordic Health Data (VALO) forum, held on 20 May 2025 in Gothenburg, Sweden and online, focused on the Nordic collaboration in the realisation of the European health data space (EHDS) regulation, and the interim results of the VALO project. The EHDS aims to enhance the secondary use of health data to strengthen research, innovation and policymaking across Europe.
Around 160 participants from all Nordic countries and European health data stakeholders took part with speakers and panelists representing health specialists from the public and the private sector.
Funded by The Nordic Council of Ministers, VALO is a collaborative effort that aims to strengthen Nordic cooperation and the use of health data in research, development and innovation.
Pilot study confirmed feasibility of Nordic health data sharing
At the forum, Åslaug Helland, professor at the University of Oslo and Susanna Flaherty, healthcare director and country manager of IQVIA Finland, presented initial results of a VALO pilot study that compares the quality of patient care by analysing existing oncology data using Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) data model. Data will derive from three hospitals in Denmark, Finland and Norway.
OMOP is a standardised way of describing patient data, such as procedures, treatments and medicines, to enable research.
The study on patients with a specific form of lung cancer confirmed that Nordic data sharing is feasible, enhancing research efforts and contributing to innovation and improved patient care.
As points of improvement, the study team noted that data collection from various data holders requires time, which needs to be taken into consideration in planning of the studies. A robust data governance model would increase the possibilities for conducting studies. The results of the study will be published in autumn 2025.
The presentation was followed by a panel discussion on the OMOP model that highlighted the potential and challenges of using the OMOP common data model to describe health data across the Nordics. Pioneering research is impeded by the lack of funding to harmonise data for research purposes. The panelists reiterated that both public and private investments are crucial to support OMOP research.
Despite challenges, the Nordic countries demonstrate strong potential, with several data holders, such as university hospitals, already having completed OMOP mapping to their data repositories.
How should the Nordics collaborate to benefit from EHDS?
Rebekka Björg Guðmundsdóttir, project manager at the Directorate of Health Iceland showcased a Nordic cooperation model for the secondary use of health data, aligned with the EHDS and the sustainability goals of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ vision 2030.
The Nordic countries’ strengths lie in the quality of their social and health data registers, collected over a long period of time, and in their secure use. The use of personal identifiers makes it easy to link data from several registers. In addition, the Nordic countries adopted electronic health record systems relatively early.
A panel discussion explored the opportunities to drive innovation and improve health outcomes across the region. Key themes included the need to steer research towards using real-time data instead of retrospective studies and to harmonise practices, both between and within countries to level the playing field.
The discussion also stressed the value of existing Nordic networks that enable cross-country research projects as well as the opportunities that artificial intelligence provides for researching large datasets.
Nordic harmonisation of EHDS
A day before the stakeholder forum on 19 May, VALO project participants gathered for informal discussions on national preparations for EHDS implementation. The meeting – referred to as competence forum – was also attended by representatives of Estonia and Lithuania that have recently joined the VALO project and was the first to be held after the EHDS has entered into force.
According to Michel Silvestri, head of unit at the Department of Analysis and investigation at the Swedish eHealth Agency stated that the competence forums raise the joint knowledge of the participants on the EHDS with the aim of Nordic harmonisation of the regulation.
Towards being the most integrated region in the world
In 2019, the Nordic prime ministers declared that the Nordic region would become the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030. Thanks to its success, the VALO project continues the Nordic collaboration towards sustainable health and care with the strength of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, with Estonia and Lithuania as observers. The project runs until October 2026.
The next VALO stakeholder forum will be held on 30 October 2025.
