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Europe has spent more than 15 years developing cross-border health data exchange.

Since the European Health Data Space (EHDS) regulation’s entry into force in March 2025, implementation is moving from policy to practice. This shift creates a major challenge: thousands of hospitals, healthcare providers, software developers, and public authorities will need to comply with new interoperability requirements.

Although technical interoperability standards exist, many organisations lack the necessary expertise to implement them.

XiA’s surveys

Surveys conducted across more than 20 European countries by the XIA project have confirmed significant skills gaps, particularly in knowledge about internationally recognised interoperability standards, such as HL7® FHIR®, SNOMED CT, and others on terminology and data exchange. Figures show that these gaps affect more than half of the 400+ respondents’ surveyed.

 XiA therefore aims to close these gaps through practical education and capacity building rather than by the development of new technical standards.

What XiA will deliver

The project is developing a flexible educational programme built around modular “micro-learning blocks”. Rather than providing long traditional courses, learners will be able to combine one-hour and two-hour learning modules designed according to their professional needs. These modules can be assembled into customised learning pathways which will eventually lead to learners receiving micro-credentials and “digital badges” (validated indicators of accomplishment).

XiA’s educational content will cover up to eight topics:

• The fundamentals of the European Health Data Space.
• Interoperability principles.
• Electronic health records.
• Clinical data standards and terminologies.
• Data quality.
• Cybersecurity and privacy.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and interoperability.
• The implementation and certification of digital health systems.

XiA will develop some 20 “families” of micro-content learning blocks on a variety of topics around Key Advanced Interoperability Standards. Among the subjects covered will be Essentials & Transversals, EHDS & System Components, and Standards & Semantics.

XiA targets three main groups of learners:

• Developers who build health information systems.
• Implementers who procure, configure and deploy digital health solutions.
• End users – including clinicians, nurses and pharmacists – who use these kinds of systems in daily practice.

All this work is closely linked to collaboration organised in XiA’s Community of Practice. For more information on the XiA community, see here. 

XiA’s work is based around an XiA Library.

What is the XiA Library

The XiA Library of open education materials illustrates well the project’s modular learning ecosystem. Rather than offering a single, fixed training programme, the library organises educational resources into thematic “families” that cover the full spectrum of health interoperability – from foundational concepts, governance, and ethics to specific electronic health record (EHR) data categories, technical standards, cybersecurity, AI, and implementation practices. Each family consists of small, reusable learning blocks. These can be combined into tailored learning pathways according to the learners’ roles, whether they are a developer, implementer, or healthcare professional.

The XiA Library’s flexible architecture enables organisations to build targeted competencies while ensuring that training can evolve alongside new European regulations, standards, and technological developments. Ultimately, the XIA Library is intended to become a sustainable repository of interoperable learning resources that supports continuous professional development across Europe’s digital health ecosystem.

More information on Xia

• Even more information on XiA, its content, library, and open educational materials can be found here. 
• XiA encourages application for membership of its Community of Practice here.