“Revolutionize medicine as we know it”: Shaping imaginaries of the European Health Data Space

Data forms an integral part of the future imaginaries of healthcare's digital transformation. To this end, the EU is launching the European Health Data Space (EHDS), intended to improve care provision and research by facilitating the exchange of patient health data within a pool of citizens spanning the European Union. This article explores this meeting of public healthcare systems with data economies, focusing on how the European Commission intervenes in future imaginaries of digital health through promotional videos. These imaginaries, which envision a future shaped by data circulation, market-making capacities, and secure data sharing, play a crucial role in shaping the digital transformation of public healthcare. The analysis suggests that while the EHDS aims to enhance patient care and research through data sharing and cross-border healthcare, it also raises concerns over data security and assetization, the extent of Big Tech involvement, and the potential commodification of health data. This study contributes to the field of critical data studies by highlighting the implications of these developments at a supranational level and suggesting a relational approach to studying the scales at which data markets and governance operate.