France’s Trusted Digital Health Ecosystem: Empowering Citizens and Enabling European Healthcare
France has developed a comprehensive digital health ecosystem that combines trusted digital identity, secure access to personal health information, and interoperable healthcare services. Through complementary national initiatives, France is creating a seamless digital experience for citizens while preparing the healthcare system for the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
Mon espace santé: Putting Citizens in Control of Their Health Data
At the heart of France’s digital health strategy is Mon espace santé, the national personal health space available to every citizen. It provides secure access to health documents such as medical reports, prescriptions, laboratory results, vaccination records, and care history.
Beyond simple document storage, Mon espace santé empowers citizens to actively manage their healthcare by controlling access to their information and securely sharing it with healthcare professionals. This patient-centric approach improves care coordination, reduces unnecessary duplication of examinations, and strengthens continuity of care.
The Carte Vitale Application: Secure Digital Identification for Healthcare
France is modernizing patient identification through the Carte Vitale application, the digital version of the national health insurance card. Available on smartphones, it enables citizens to securely identify themselves when accessing healthcare services while maintaining the same level of trust as the physical card.
The digital Carte Vitale simplifies administrative processes, supports secure patient identification, and contributes to safer and more efficient healthcare delivery by ensuring that medical information is accurately linked to the right individual.
France Identité: The Foundation of Trusted Digital Identity
The deployment of France Identité provides citizens with a sovereign digital identity wallet that enables them to securely prove their identity online and in person using official government credentials. France Identité is expected to become France’s implementation of the EUDI Wallet.
As a trusted digital identity solution, France Identité supports secure authentication for public services, including healthcare. It provides the level of assurance required for accessing sensitive health information while giving citizens greater control over the use of their personal identity data. Together with the Carte Vitale application, it establishes a robust trust framework for digital health services.
SESALI: Connecting Healthcare Across Europe
France’s digital health ecosystem also extends beyond national borders through SESALI (Service Européen de Santé en Ligne). Developed by the French Digital Health Agency (ANS), SESALI connects France to the MyHealth@EU infrastructure, enabling secure cross-border exchange of health information between European Member States.
SESALI allows French healthcare professionals to securely access the medical summary of a European patient in a structured format and translated into French, facilitating the treatment of tourists, cross-border workers, and other EU citizens receiving care in France.
Beyond its national initiatives, France is actively contributing to the development of digital health services at the European level. The French Ministry of Health and the French Digital Health Agency (ANS) are partners in the myHealth@myHands project, a European initiative dedicated to improving citizens’ access to their health data across borders. France is helping shape a future in which every European citizen can securely access and share their health data, supporting continuity of care, patient empowerment, and the realization of the European Health Data Space.
Author: Joana Ungureanu – Agence du Numérique en Santé, France
Links
Europe et International | e-santé
Mon espace santé – Vous avez la main sur votre santé
France Identité | Prouver son identité en ligne et maîtriser la diffusion de ses données d’identité.
Keywords
Digital Health, EUDI Wallet, France, myHealth@myHands, EUDI Wallet, health data sharing, mobile health, EHDS
