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Dear EUPHA Digital Health and AI members,
Welcome to the first EUPHA Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence (DH&AI) newsletter of 2025! After a short hiatus, we are thrilled to resume our communications with this quarterly newsletter. From now on, you can expect updates, opportunities, and insights from our section every quarter—so stay tuned!
For those of you who are new to our network, the EUPHA Digital Health and AI section is dedicated to advancing the intersection of digital health, artificial intelligence, and public health. We aim to connect researchers, policymakers, and practitioners across Europe who are passionate about leveraging technology to improve public health outcomes.
We’d love to hear from you! If you have ideas, events, publications, or opportunities relevant to our community, or if your organisation is interested in partnering with us, please get in touch at euphadhai@gmail.com.
The EUPHA DHAI Team
1. European Health Data Space: a big step forward – and what comes next
On 5 March, the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation was officially published in the Official Journal of the European Union. It enters into force on 26 March 2025, marking the beginning of the transition phase towards application. It’s a significant milestone for digital health in Europe and an exciting moment for everyone working in the field. The EHDS is about giving people more control over their health data while making it easier – and safer – to reuse that data for research, innovation, and better healthcare. This is good news not only for patients but also for researchers, healthcare professionals, and the broader digital health and AI community. Access to reliable, high-quality data can help develop new solutions, improve care, and advance scientific discovery.
But this is just the beginning of a long process. The EHDS will be rolled out in stages over the next few years, with key milestones in 2027, 2029, 2031, and 2034. It is essential to stay informed because the actions taken along the way – on data access, interoperability, and privacy – will shape how we all work with health data in the future.
If you haven’t had a chance to read the details yet, you can find out more here.
Prof. Anna Odone
President EUPHA Digital health section
2. Introducing the new Steering Committee!
In October 2024, a new Steering Committee was selected for our section. For those who didn’t have the chance to meet us in person in Lisbon last year, we’d like to take a moment to introduce ourselves. You can reach out to any of the Steering Committee members for inquiries related to their respective areas of expertise within the section.
Section Pillars
Advocacy – Dr. Samantha Field (samantha.m.field@gmail.com)
Samantha Field is a Public Health physician based in the UK. She is the co-founder and co-chair of the Faculty of Public Health’s AI & Digital Public Health Special Interest Group. She has experience working in the public sector, private sector, and academia.
Communication – Dr. Francesco Baglivo (francesco.baglivo94@gmail.com)
Francesco Baglivo is a physician pursuing a PhD in Public Health at the University of Pisa. He is a co-founder and board member of the Italian Society of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (SIIAM)
Event and Training – Dr. André Peralta Santos ( aperaltasantos@ensp.unl.pt)
Dr. André Peralta-Santos is a medical doctor and public health specialist with expertise in epidemiology and health policy evaluation. He currently serves as Deputy Director-General of Health in Portugal.
Research – Dr. Laura Maaß (laura.maass@uni-bremen.de)
Dr Laura Maaß is a postdoc at the Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health Bremen (Germany) and the speaker of the German Public Health Association’s Digital Public Health Section. She has been a member of the Digital Health & AI section since 2021 and is now responsible for coordinating research activities.
Funding and Partnership – Dr. Anton Hasselgren (anton.karl.hasselgren@gmail.com)
PhD Anton Hasselgren is working for Sweden’s innovation agency, focusing on digitalization. Previous experience in research, startups, and the public sector within digital health. Previous EUPHAnxt coordinator.”
3. Spotlight on AI & Public Health – recent publications worth reading
Artificial Intelligence continues to gain traction in healthcare and public health, not just in research labs but increasingly in policy discussions, regulatory frameworks, and real-world applications. In recent weeks, three high-profile publications have addressed different but complementary aspects of this evolving landscape – offering tools, frameworks, and considerations for those shaping the future of digital health.
From the BMJ (February 2025), Lekadir et al. present the FUTURE-AI guidelines, a consensus-based roadmap developed by over 100 international experts. With 30 best practices based on principles such as fairness, accountability, and robustness, the framework helps ensure that AI tools are not only innovative but also safe, ethical, and fit for clinical use.
Just a few weeks later, The Lancet Public Health (February 2025) published a broader perspective on the role of AI in public health by Panteli et al. Co-authored by our Section Vice-President Stefan Buttigieg, the article explores how AI can support key public health functions – from surveillance to resource allocation – while drawing attention to critical issues such as equity, infrastructure, and digital capacity.
More recently, the BMJ (March 2025) featured Moons et al. and the launch of PROBAST+AI, a significant update to the widely used risk of bias tool for predictive models. Designed for both traditional and AI-based models, the new version provides detailed guidance on evaluating model development and validation, helping researchers and decision-makers assess real-world applicability.
These publications provide timely, practical insights for those navigating the promises and challenges of AI in health. It’s definitely worth a read!
Other suggested reads:
4. Contribute to the section newsletter and social!
After a long hiatus, we’re happy to bring you this renewed edition of our newsletter. As your Communication Pillar, I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on our new format! We want this newsletter to be a dynamic, valuable resource for everyone in our section. If you come across any interesting articles, upcoming conferences or webinars, and job opportunities—or if you simply have feedback to share—please reach out!
Dr. Francesco Baglivo
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