NCP

National Contact Point

In short: Each member state will have 1 or more National Contact Points, which enable the exchange of data between members states for cross-border primary or secondary use scenarios.

Primary use

In this context NCPs are formally designated as NCPeH - National Contact Point for eHealth.

NCP to NCP interoperability (between member states) uses its own sets of interoperability standards. It is intended that these be harmonized with the recommended EEHRxF specifications.

Currently (2026):

• Cross-border exchange historically classic IHE XDS.b by definition. It uses the XDS.b metadata model. XDS is used for Patient Summary and ePrescription CDA-based services (those currently in operation). Initial investigational efforts are however underway in MyHealth@EU to enable a migration also of these services to FHIR. (no one can however say when this will happen)
• New MyHealth@Eu FHIR-based services are not IHE XDS.b. Document search/fetch is supported using FHIR DocumentReference resources.

From recital 34: MyHealth@EU provides a common infrastructure for the Member States to ensure connectivity and interoperability in an efficient and secure way to support cross-border healthcare, without affecting Member States' responsibilities before and after the transmission of personal electronic health data through it. Member States are responsible for the organisation of their national contact points for digital health and for the processing of personal data for the purposes of the delivery of healthcare, before and after the transmission of those data through MyHealth@EU. Secondary Use In this context NCPs are informally designated as NCP2U - National Contact Point for secondary use (used by organisations located within a member states) or EUNCP2U (a contact point used by EU organizations acting as data holders).

Notes/Discussion

Note that the NCPeH (primary use) of a given member state is a different software solution than the NCP used (in that same member state) for secondary use. It supports different work flows, uses different standards, and the EC uses a different requirements catalogue regarding its functionality. The EC provides an open source implementation of both kinds of NCPs which a member state may choose to adopt.

---

Feedback

Please e-mail ehds@ringholm.com should the information on this page be incorrect or incomplete; we welcome your suggestions to improve its content.

About Ringholm bv

Ringholm bv is a group of European experts in the field of messaging standards and systems integration in healthcare IT. We provide the industry's most advanced training courses and consulting on healthcare information exchange standards.