HL7 Europe Patient Summary, published by HL7 Europe. This guide is not an authorized publication; it is the continuous build for version 1.0.0-ci-build built by the FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) CI Build. This version is based on the current content of https://github.com/hl7-eu/eps/ and changes regularly. See the Directory of published versions

Introduction

Introduction

The European Patient Summary (EPS) is a standardized, cross-border health data set intended to support safe and effective healthcare delivery, particularly in unplanned care scenarios. It enables healthcare professionals to access essential clinical information about a patient, regardless of where the data was originally recorded.

This FHIR Implementation Guide (IG) defines the European Patient Summary using HL7® FHIR®, providing a computable and interoperable specification aligned with European and international standards and initiatives.

Policy and Semantic Foundations

This guide is based on and aligned with the eHealth Network (eHN) Guideline on the Patient Summary, which define the scope, purpose, and semantic content of the European Patient Summary in the context of cross-border healthcare within the European Union.

Guideline that has been further refined by the Xt-EHR Joint Action, action contributing to the development of implementing acts under EHDS.

European and International Standards Alignment

The HL7 FHIR European Patient Summary aims conformance with the HL7 FHIR International Patient Summary (IPS) Implementation Guide, version 2.0.0, and with the HL7 FHIR EU Core profiles. Through the conformance with the HL7 FHIR IPS, this guide claims also compliance with the ISO/EN 27269 – International Patient Summary (IPS) standard, ensuring consistency with internationally recognized requirements for patient summary content and structure.

Purpose of This Guide

This guide provides:

• A FHIR-based representation of the European Patient Summary
• European-specific constraints and guidance where required
• Alignment with EU policy, international standards, and global FHIR specifications

It is intended to support national and regional implementations, cross-border health information exchange, and alignment with the European Health Data Space (EHDS), supporting the implementation of the European Electronic Health Record Exchange Format (EEHRxF).

Audience

This Implementation Guide is intended for:

• System architects and developers
• Standards organizations and national authorities
• Vendors implementing EPS-compatible systems
• Cross-border and European interoperability initiatives