EUREGHA Working Groups on Cancer, Digital Transformation and Cross-Border Health – Spring Recap

Over the past months, EUREGHA’s Working Groups on Cancer, Digital Transformation, and Cross-Border Healthcare had meetings to discuss key regional health priorities, exchange practices, and identify new opportunities for collaboration across the network.

The Cancer Working Group gathered regional authorities, healthcare providers, researchers, and patient organisations for a dedicated exchange on patient engagement in cancer prevention and care. The European Commission presented the forthcoming EU Cancer Mission calls under Horizon Europe, highlighting the role of National Cancer Mission Hubs in strengthening cooperation between European, national, regional, and local actors. Youth Cancer Europe presented the YARN – Youth Cancer Network project, stressing the importance of empowering young people with lived cancer experience through peer support, psychosocial wellbeing, education and career reintegration, and meaningful participation in healthcare and research processes. The meeting also featured the experience of AUSL Bologna and the IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, showcasing Emilia-Romagna’s patient-centred oncology ecosystem, regional Oncology and Hemato-Oncology Network, integrated clinical pathways, registries, molecular diagnostic platforms, and coordinated governance mechanisms to improve continuity of care and equitable access across the territory.

The Digital Transformation Working Group focused on the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence in healthcare. The European Commission presented the latest EU initiatives supporting AI deployment in healthcare, including the COMPASS-AI project and the implementation of the European Health Data Space. Emilia-Romagna Region shared its regional strategy for AI governance in healthcare, aimed at building a coordinated, trustworthy and scalable AI ecosystem across the regional health system. The presentation highlighted the work of the Healthcare AI Task Force, including the mapping of over 90 AI projects across healthcare services and research institutes, with applications in radiology, clinical decision support, workflow optimisation and patient care. Discussions also addressed AI literacy, workforce preparedness, regulatory readiness, interoperability and the development of a regional AI regulatory sandbox to support responsible innovation in healthcare.

The Cross-Border Healthcare Working Group explored practical challenges and policy opportunities linked to patient-centred care, governance arrangements and access to care in border regions. The meeting featured the Cross-Prehab Project, presented by the Health Agency of Lower Austria through the HealthAcross initiative, as an Interreg-supported initiative developed with Slovak partners. The project focuses on improving clinical pathways for hip and knee replacement surgery through structured preoperative rehabilitation, bilingual materials, instructional videos, and an evaluation framework combining cost-benefit analysis with patient-reported experience. Participants also advanced EUREGHA’s forthcoming Position Paper on Cross-Border Healthcare, discussing the role of local and regional authorities as co-designers of cross-border solutions, the visibility of EGTCs as governance tools, the role of health insurance bodies and National Contact Points, workforce mobility, legal and administrative barriers, and the need to better connect governance, legal frameworks and funding opportunities in the context of the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

Across the three meetings, EUREGHA also presented relevant project and policy opportunities, including the recently published BeWell Skills Strategy, collaboration possibilities through InnoMedCatalyst, the upcoming ECHoS II – Cancer Mission Hubs initiative, and exchanges with the Innovative Health Initiative Secretariat. These discussions underlined the importance of stronger cooperation between regions, EU institutions, healthcare providers, patient organisations, researchers and innovators to ensure that European health priorities are translated into concrete, inclusive and territorially grounded solutions.

The EUREGHA Working Groups will continue their activities in the coming months, building on these exchanges to further strengthen regional cooperation, policy engagement and knowledge-sharing across the network. To know more about EUREGHA’s Working Groups, please contact the EUREGHA Secretariat.