„Gaia-X Hub Austria – Domain Health“

Vision and Objectives

The Gaia-X Austria Health Domain aims to establish a trustworthy, secure, and interoperable data ecosystem within the Austrian healthcare system. This ecosystem will enable patients, healthcare providers, research institutions, and companies along the entire care chain to use health data in a privacy-compliant and public-good-oriented manner. The domain supports the implementation of the Gaia-X principles – particularly self-determination, transparency, sovereignty, and interoperability – within the highly regulated healthcare context.

Motivation

Health data is considered highly sensitive yet critically important for medical care, research, prevention, and innovation. The domain addresses current barriers to cross-sectoral use of health data, especially in terms of data protection, fragmented IT systems, unclear responsibilities, and insufficient incentives for data sharing. The goal is to create a framework for secure and standardized data spaces – both for research and development and for patient-centered applications.

Community & Stakeholders

The Health Domain brings together a broad range of stakeholders – from hospitals, research institutions, and businesses to patient advocacy groups, ministries, and technology providers. At the heart of its work is the participatory development of use cases, standards, and governance models. The domain is also closely connected to international Gaia-X Health initiatives and global stakeholders involved in the European Health Data Space (EHDS).

A Hub for Collaboration, Knowledge Transfer, and Implementation

The Austrian Health Domain serves as a central hub for information, collaboration, and implementation projects in the area of trustworthy health data spaces. Close integration with existing national and international structures is essential:

European Networks: The domain aligns with European initiatives such as TEHDAS, TEHDAS2, IDERHA, and EHDS2-Pilot, supporting Austrian health research and industry in actively participating in EU-wide data space activities.
National Networks: It builds on the expertise and activities of existing networks and enables cross-sectoral learning experiences.
Standardization Initiatives: The domain monitors relevant national and international standardization efforts (e.g., HL7 FHIR, IHE, SNOMED CT) and collaborates closely with stakeholders such as Austrian Standards, ELGA GmbH, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK), and the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection.
Research and Development: Numerous domain partners are involved in national and European research projects, including d4Health Tirol, Smart FOX, präNUDGE, and European initiatives like EJP-RD. Insights from these projects directly inform the further development of the Austrian health data space.
Flagship Projects and Pilot Initiatives: The domain identifies and supports pioneering pilot projects and demonstrators to test use cases and develop scalable models for secure, interoperable, and public-good-oriented data use.
Support for Healthcare Providers and Businesses: SMEs, start-ups, and public institutions receive targeted support in implementing Gaia-X-compliant solutions, co-funded by national and European programs.

Open Source and Open Science as the Foundation

The Gaia-X Austria Health Domain is firmly committed to the principles of Open Source and Open Science as key elements of a trustworthy, participatory, and innovation-friendly health data space. Open software solutions foster transparency, reusability, and interoperability across the entire data value chain – from data collection to federated learning and outcome utilization. The domain actively promotes the development and adoption of open-source components (e.g., for identity and access management, data catalogues, data connectors) and encourages collaboration within open software communities. It also supports initiatives that advance open infrastructures, transparent data practices, and citizen science approaches.

Examples from the Domain

MaLaC-HD (Mapping Language Compiler for Health Data): A tool that converts mappings between different health data formats into executable code. It can also be used as a library for dynamic mapping execution.
GitLab: cdeHealth / MaLaC-HD
More to come (teaser: FOX BOX)

Use Cases

The domain focuses on the implementation of specific use cases that demonstrate the value of Gaia-X in healthcare. A non-exhaustive list includes:

Data Donation Platforms for Research: Citizens can voluntarily donate health data to support medical research and innovation.
www.smart-fox.at
Cross-sectoral Care Pathway Analysis: Linking data from outpatient, inpatient, and long-term care to improve treatment quality and efficiency.
D4Health Tirol
Data-driven Health Promotion through Certified Apps: Building a data ecosystem for standardized health profiles from trusted apps to support personalized prevention and public health efforts, präNUDGE