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Healthcare systems in the EU-27 (and around the world) are facing complex challenges, including rising “cure-demand” due to aging population, increasing numbers of chronic and complex medical conditions, growing operating costs and shortages of the healthcare workforce. However, the AIs and other digital technologies are already having stronger potentials in addressing these challenges and showing improving operational efficiency by reducing administrative burdens as well as enhancing diagnosis and treatment procedures.
Background
The Commission has launched in October 2025 a new initiative (called COMPASS-AI) aimed at creation a “European community of experts” towards safe and effective AI use in healthcare, among numerous other applications. Generally, the existing EU’s AI initiatives, such as the enAI4EU and Apply AI Strategy have also formulated most vital policy direction’s themes for AI in healthcare. The new initiative is just one of the flagship measures in the recent EU’s Apply AI Strategy to activate responsible and effective integration of AI into clinical settings.
More in European Commission. Shaping Europe’s digital future: “Apply AI Strategy”, in:
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/apply-ai
The EU’s “compass-AI-project” directly responds to modern health challenges by establishing a pan-European coordination mechanism that brings together patients, clinicians, researchers, industry and policy-makers. Through this collaboration, such AI models will map and connect existing AI initiatives in health among the EU member states: i.e. to avoid duplication and maximize synergies by developing practical guidelines, standards and policy recommendations to support ethical, trustworthy and evidence-based AI integration into healthcare systems. Most vital, the AI models will create tools and frameworks for governance and patient involvement, ensuring that AI applications are aligned with real-world needs and values. Finally, the project will also promote training, capacity building and knowledge exchange, enabling healthcare professionals and researchers to better understand and adopt AI solutions.
More in: https://eatris.eu/projects/community-of-multidisciplinary-professionals-advancing-safe-and-successful-ai-implementation-in-clinical-practice/
For example, researchers in a recent EU-wide study noted that despite the already numerous available AI-based tools, their “deployment in clinical practice was slow”; the study highlighted some globally successful strategies used by hospitals, offering valuable inspiration in the EU states, which are “uniquely positioned to support safe, effective, ethical and equitable scale-up of AI deployment in healthcare, balancing the need to nurture innovation with safeguarding the fundamental rights of patients”. Researchers suggest perspective actions in monitoring indicators that could enable progress in enabling the AI integration into the healthcare systems.
Source: European Commission: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, “Study on the deployment of AI in healthcare”, Final report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2025, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2875/2169577
European “apply AI” strategy in medical sector
As to the role of the EU’s “apply AI strategy” (also approved in October 2025), it complements the AI Continent Action Plan (originated in April 2025), with concrete measures at harnessing AI’s transformative potential among several “action’s sections”, aimed at boosting the AI adoption across key industry and public sector. E.g. the “industrial sectors” include healthcare and pharmaceuticals, mobility, transport and automotive, robotics, manufacturing, engineering and construction, climate and environment, energy, agri-food; defence, security and space, electronic communications, and cultural, creative and media sectors.
More on AI “continent plan” in: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/ai-continent-action-plan
The AI and digital-induced transformations in the healthcare and medicines’ sectors are at the forefront of the “apply AI strategy”; i.e. citizens in the member states will be first to experience the “benefits of trustworthy European AI, improving diagnosis, strengthening personalised prevention, supporting doctors and accelerating the discovery of new treatments”, notes Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare; the AI progress has had tremendous achievements during last decade: e.g. a physician is presently able now to interact with a futuristic, holographic medical interface displaying human anatomy and even DNA.
Source: European Commission “The Commission launches flagship initiative to increase use of AI in healthcare” (2025), in: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-launches-flagship-initiative-increase-use-ai-healthcare
The EU’s initiatives to support the AI’s “industrial application”, the European Digital Health Summit (December 2025) featured a dynamic program designed to encourage the exchange of experience centered around the most pressing challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the EU-wide health systems. The idea was to advance the EU4Health objectives, which are concentrated on four key areas: 1. strengthening healthcare systems and workforce in the states, 2. advancing the one-health approach, 3. ensuring access to medicines, and 4. driving digital-health technologies’ adoption.
More in the Digital Europe. European Digital Health Summit (2025), in:
https://european-digital-health-summit.com/
The European Commission is not only recognising healthcare as a strategic sector; but by actively supporting and deploying AIs and other digital health technologies the EU intends to achieve triple goals: i.e. a) a better healthcare for people, b) financially stable healthcare systems, and c) stronger and more competitive member states’ economies. In this regard, the COMPASS-AI initiative is focusing, particularly, on such priority areas as e.g. “cancer care” and healthcare in remote areas, with extensive networks’ partners across hospitals and professional societies. Besides, recent EU AI-healthcare initiatives will also activate interactive digital platforms to map best practices and facilitate knowledge exchange: such networks will deliver AI deployment guidelines and raise AI literacy in healthcare professionals, hospital managers and patients.
More in “Artificial Intelligence in Health”: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/artificial-intelligence-health