From June 10 to 12, 2025, Paris became the centre of healthcare innovation as it hosted the HIMSS European Health Conference & Exhibition.
HIMSS25 Europe brought together Europe’s top health tech innovators and healthcare professionals, creating a dynamic space for collaboration and sharing best practices. Attendees gained valuable insights to help transform health systems across the region.
The conference highlighted its goal of bridging advanced technology with real-world healthcare needs. This can encourage meaningful knowledge exchange and strengthen connections within the digital health community. It was a true meeting of minds, driving progress in the industry.
Shaping the future of healthcare
Over three days, the conference engaged in discussions that explored crucial topics driving innovation in healthcare. Here are the major themes that stood out:
Policy meets practice
A big focus was on how Europe’s major health policies, like the European Health Data Space (EHDS), EU AI Act, and Cyber Resilience Act, are shaping real-world tech adoption.
Sessions explored what these regulations mean for hospitals, clinics, and tech developers, with EHDS taking centre stage in panels such as “EHDS in Practice” and “How Does It Impact Me?”
A gathering of global healthcare leaders
When thousands of visionaries, innovators, and changemakers come together, the energy is undeniable. That is exactly what we experienced at #HIMSS25Europe in Paris.
HIMSS President and CEO Hal Wolf sat down with Tjasa Zajc and HIMSS TV to reflect on what made this year’s event so impactful.
Watch the full interview here.
The time for transformation is now
In her opening keynote at HIMSS 2025 Europe, Elena Sini, Chair of the HIMSS Board of Directors, delivered a powerful message to the global healthcare community:
We must, as an industry, rise to meet our needs with the strength, speed, and commitment required. Our time is short; the challenges ahead will grow, not diminish.”
Her words were a call to act. Not tomorrow, not in the future, but now.
Ethical data use & interoperability
With great data comes great responsibility. Conversations tackled privacy, bias in AI, governance, and how to ensure data improves care without compromising safety or equity.
Supporting the healthcare workforce
Staff shortages and burnout remain major challenges. The conference explored ways to retain talent, reduce competition for skilled workers across Europe, and use tech to train and support teams, especially as care shifts toward home-based models.
Advancing women’s health
A dedicated track put a spotlight on gender equity, from tech designed for women’s health to strategies that empower female providers and patients.
Hands-on learning & real-world tech
At HIMSS25 Europe, learning was not just about sitting through lectures. It was about seeing and doing. The Interoperability Showcase brought tech to life with live demos like:
- “Acute Care Hospital Workflow”: How seamless data flow can transform emergency care.
- “Patient-Mediated Exchange of Data (EHDS)”: Putting patients in control of their health info.
Backed by big names like BD, Dedalus, and Palo Alto Networks, these sessions showed what works (and where the hurdles are) in real hospitals and clinics.
Since nothing beats learning from those who have been there, real-world case studies gave attendees proven strategies, backed by data, from health systems across Europe. With perspectives from 80+ nations, every attendee found relevant inspiration for their local context.
Community engagement and networking
The Welcome Reception kicked off networking in a relaxed atmosphere, while HIMSS Community meetups like the Nordic Healthcare and Italian discussions on EHR 2.0 and Telemedicine let peers swap insights on shared challenges.
For fresh ideas, the Innovation Forum and Startup Pitchfest (with EIT Health) spotlighted bold new ventures and tech. For those levelling up their skills, the Digital Health Literacy Certificate gave healthcare pros and students a solid foundation in digital health’s real-world impact.
The keynote challenge
The conference kicked off with a thought-provoking keynote by futurist Dr Zayna Khayat, who issued a bold challenge: “Start building tomorrow’s healthcare today.”
The heart of her message pierced through all the tech buzzwords—true transformation requires innovation with purpose. Yes, AI and digital tools are game-changers, but she reminded us breakthroughs happen when we combine cutting-edge tech with:
- Vision that cuts through the noise
- Boldness to challenge the status quo
- Solutions that stay rooted in real needs
This became our north star: Technology alone is not the answer. It is how we consciously wield it that matters. This challenge left attendees rethinking how they approach healthcare’s digital evolution.
From policy to tangible impact
The big question on everyone’s mind: How do we transform groundbreaking policies like the AI Act and EHDS into real-world impact for 450 million Europeans?
Beyond the legal frameworks, discussions zeroed in on execution—how record digital health investments can improve lives.
Momentum is strong, but the true test lies in delivering tangible results where they matter most: in people’s health outcomes.
Where tech meets human care
The Interoperability Showcase delivered one of the conference’s most eye-opening experiences: Live patient journeys unfolding across hospitals, borders, and disconnected systems.
Smooth data sharing means better patient experiences while system disconnects put health outcomes at risk. The big reveal: True interoperability is about designing systems that help care teams communicate better to protect patients.
When data moves effortlessly, so does healing.
Cybersecurity: A Mandate
The hard truth is cyberattacks are not “if” but “when” for healthcare. Experts laid bare the life-or-death stakes of system breaches while delivering concrete survival strategies:
Critical Priorities:
- Protecting IoT medical devices
- Training frontline teams for attack response
- Ensuring care continues during breaches
Cyber resilience is now as essential as medical equipment. It’s not just IT’s problem, but healthcare’s collective responsibility.
HIMSS25 Europe Startup Pitchfest
This year, HIMSS25 Europe organised its 3rd Startup Pitchfest, in collaboration with EIT Health. Here are the pitchfest winners:
Feyenally (Poland): A smartphone‑based self‑examination tool for refractive eye conditions, targeting over a billion people globally lacking access to traditional eye care.
Saventic Health (Poland): Uses AI to accelerate diagnosis of rare diseases by analyzing clinical data and guiding physicians toward early specialist referrals.
Concluding thoughts
The HIMSS25 Europe conference made one thing crystal clear: digital healthcare is moving at lightning speed, with AI and smart data use driving incredible breakthroughs.
We are not across the finish line yet. Turning policies into practice, upskilling our workforce, and making sure these advances reach everyone are the tough nuts we still need to crack.
What is truly exciting is seeing how Europe’s health tech community came together, ready to roll up their sleeves and tackle these challenges as one.
The conference closed not with endings, but with starting points. Hundreds of practical ways to turn insights into action. Clearly, future-proof healthcare demands equal parts vision, infrastructure, and empowered teams with actionable strategies to achieve all three.
-By Alkama Sohail and the AHT Team
