Redcare Pharmacy is thrilled to announce that the European Parliament adopted the Regulation on the European Health Data Space (EHDS), marking a historic moment as it recognises online pharmacies as full and equal players in healthcare systems across the EU for the first time.

Under the new Regulation, patients will be able to electronically control their personal health data throughout the EU. Healthcare professionals will gain access to patients’ electronic health records (EHRs), which will include patient summaries, electronic prescriptions, medical imaging and laboratory results (known as primary use). To establish a unified health data space, the new rules make the participation for each EU Member State in the MyHealth@EU infrastructure mandatory. This infrastructure will connect national health data access services, facilitating the cross-border sharing of patients’ health data among other functionalities.

This Regulation explicitly includes online pharmacies, recognising that online pharmacies must be allowed to take part in the MyHealth@EU infrastructure, which is stipulated in Article 12.6 of the EHDS. The Regulation even states that different healthcare policies should not hinder the free movement of electronic health services, such as telemedicine, including online pharmacy services.

Olaf Heinrich, CEO of Redcare Pharmacy, comments: “This development is a major milestone, as it allows us as an online pharmacy currently operating in seven EU Member States, to accept e-prescriptions from other countries, thereby meeting the needs of our patients”. He further adds: “To me, this represent a significant step towards enabling patients to obtain their prescription medicine digitally in the future and access additional healthcare services online”.

The EHDS will come into force in Q4 2024, with direct applicability starting from Q4 2026. The sharing of primary data, such as electronic prescriptions, will become possible as of Q4 2028.