Bridging law and ethics: Fairness and the secondary use of health data in the European Health Data Space (EHDS)
The European Health Data Space (EHDS) marks a significant shift in the governance of health data in Europe, creating new opportunities for large-scale data sharing to support research, innovation, and AI. At the same time, it raises important questions about how citizens’ rights and interests can be safeguarded within an increasingly data-driven health ecosystem. As access to health data expands across borders and sectors, there is a risk that existing power imbalances between data subjects and data users may become further entrenched.
This talk examines the EHDS through the lens of fairness, a foundational principle of EU data protection law that remains underexplored in debates about health data governance. Drawing on research from my doctoral dissertation, I argue that fairness offers more than a legal requirement: it provides a normative framework for assessing whether the benefits and burdens of secondary data use are distributed equitably and whether individuals’ rights are meaningfully protected in practice.
By exploring how fairness can be operationalised within the EHDS, the presentation will reflect on areas where current safeguards may be insufficient and consider how a fairness-based approach could contribute to more legitimate, trustworthy, and socially acceptable governance of health data reuse across Europe.
Session Moderator: Ruoxin Su
Guest Speaker
Patricia Cervera de la Cruz
PHG Cambridge
Dr Patricia Cervera de la Cruz is a policy analyst at PHG Cambridge, a health policy not-for-profit consultancy associated with the University of Cambridge. She specializes in the legal and ethical frameworks governing scientific health innovations, and the health data governance structures that support them. Previously, she served as a research associate at KU Leuven’s Center for Biomedical Ethics and Law and was a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School’s Petrie-Flom Center. She holds a PhD in Law from Ghent University, which focused on fairness in the secondary use of health data within the European Health Data Space (EHDS) regulation. She also holds a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from Durham University and an LLM in Medical Law and Ethics from University of Edinburgh.
Date/Time
22 January 2027 | 13.00 - 15.00
Location
VUB Main Campus | Learning & Innovation Center - LIC.5.14 (Board Room)
Address: Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Etterbeek, Brussels
Direct access to LIC Building via Pleinlaan (Entrance 13) or Triomflaan (Entrance 6)
Registration
This is an in-person event, free of charge for all participants.
Registration to the event is mandatory. You can register here: HELT Talks 2026/27 | Session 04 - Registration Form
Contact
For questions or further information regarding this session, please contact Ruoxin at ruoxin.su@vub.be
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