The HL7 Europe Townhall: a preview on Málaga and Pisa – an HL7 Europe webinar held on Monday, 31 August 2026
Scroll down for the recording. Click here for the slide deck.
The work on digital health interoperability is heating up, with multiple projects and initiatives paving the way for the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and the first EHDS landmark in early 2027, when some EHDS obligations enter into force and the first implementing acts are published.
To keep the whole community moving in step with this, HL7 Europe is introducing a new format: the HL7 Europe Townhall.
A townhall is an open, community-wide meeting borrowed from the old idea of a town gathering where everyone in the community could come together, hear what mattered, and speak up. In that spirit, the HL7 Europe Townhall is a regular online meeting where HL7 European affiliates and the wider HL7 Europe community meet to shed light on key initiatives, share organisational news and updates, and put questions directly to the people driving the work. It is not a lecture and not a closed board session. It is a shared space, open to everyone in the community, with room for discussion and Q&A, all packed into one hour.
The first, inaugural townhall focused on the two upcoming major events and introduce the HL7 Europe volunteer programme. Speakers and agenda:
- The Townhall / Community News / Volunteer Programme
Catherine Chronaki - The HL7 Europe Working Group Meeting in Málaga, Spain, 16-20 November
Kai Heitmann, Giorgio Cangioli, Patrick Werner - The Hospitals on FHIR User Days, 19-21 October
Stefano Dalmiani - Q&A
The webinar was facilitated by Michael Strübin from HL7 Europe. Click below for the recording. Here is the link to the slide deck.
TownHall News
The first HL7 Europe Townhall introduced a quarterly, open forum where Europe’s interoperability community can exchange updates, raise implementation needs and turn discussion into participation. Each Townhall will help create a continuous feedback loop between HL7 Europe’s strategy and its community.
Three things we heard
- The community needs a clearer front door. Newcomers, implementers and affiliate members need an easier way to understand what is happening across HL7 Europe and its national communities.
- Implementation experience must travel faster across borders. Questions and solutions arising in one country should be shared more effectively with affiliates and experts elsewhere in Europe.
- Now is an important time to contribute. European FHIR Implementation Guides are being tested, reconciled and prepared for alignment with the forthcoming EHDS implementing framework.
Three things happening across Europe
- HL7 Europe Working Group Meeting, Málaga, 16–20 November 2026. The programme includes European FHIR Imple mentation Guides, EHDS topics, tutorials, adoption experience, hands-on testing, project work and governance meetings. http://tinyurl.com/hl7euwgm2026
- Hospitals on FHIR User Days, Pisa, 19–21 October 2026. Planned themes include FHIR implementation and adoption, AI-supported interoperability, cybersecurity, cancer initiatives, clinical research and medical-device integration.
http://www.hospitalsonfhir.eu - European FHIR specifications are advancing. Work discussed included Base and Core, Patient Summary, Medication Prescription and Dispense, Imaging, Laboratory Results, Hospital Discharge Report, Health Data API and the European Common Cancer Model.
https://hl7.eu/fhir/cancer-common/
Three opportunities to get involved
- Join the HL7 Europe volunteer programme. Seven tracks cover FHIR Implementation Guides, community events, HL7 Europe initiatives, communications and marketing, tooling and infrastructure, education and training, and EU-funded proposals.
volunteer@hl7europe.org - Help shape Málaga. Suggest agenda topics, bring implementation questions or data, share national experience, or help with facilitation, logistics and newcomer support.
http://tinyurl.com/hl7euwgm2026 - Keep the Townhall community-led. Submit questions, experiences and priorities for future sessions, including contributions in your own language.
townhall@hl7europe.org
Next Townhall: Tuesday, 1 December 2026, 15:00–16:00 CET.
