XiA and CSCT at the European Digital Healthcare Excellence Forum
The European Digital Healthcare Excellence Forum, organised by Smart Bridges, brought together healthcare leaders, hospital executives and digital health experts in Frankfurt on 2–3 March 2026 to discuss the future of healthcare digitalisation in Europe. The event gathered more than 80 participants and over 15 speakers for two days of discussions, case studies and round tables focused on digital transformation in healthcare organisations.
Among the invited speakers was Dr Marie-Alexandra Lambot, representing the Belgian Community Support for Clinical Terminologies (CSCT) and the XiA consortium.
Her presentation focused on a topic that is often overlooked in discussions about digital health: the role of solidarity and communities of practice in overcoming the practical challenges of healthcare digitalisation.
Communities of practice as a response to digital transformation challenges
Healthcare digitalisation is frequently approached as a technological challenge. In practice, however, the most difficult barriers are often organisational and educational.
During the forum, Dr Lambot highlighted how communities of practice can play a decisive role in supporting digital transformation. Drawing on the experience of the CSCT initiative in Belgium, she explained how collaborative networks allow professionals to share expertise, discuss implementation challenges and collectively build knowledge around complex standards such as clinical terminologies.
This type of collaborative environment is particularly valuable when healthcare organisations face limited resources while needing to adopt increasingly sophisticated digital tools and interoperability standards.
Connecting communities with European skills development
The presentation also introduced the XiA project (Xpanding Innovative Alliance) as part of the broader European response to these challenges.
XiA focuses on strengthening digital and interoperability skills across the healthcare workforce, developing structured learning pathways and modular educational content that can support professionals who need to understand and implement digital health standards in practice.
In this perspective, communities of practice such as CSCT represent an important complement to formal training programmes. They provide a space where professionals can exchange real-world experience, discuss implementation difficulties and collectively build practical knowledge that can later be translated into structured educational resources.
Supporting Europe’s transition towards the EHDS
As Europe prepares for the implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS), the need for skilled professionals capable of working with interoperability standards, clinical terminologies and digital health infrastructures is becoming increasingly evident.
The discussion at the European Digital Healthcare Excellence Forum reinforced a key message: digital health transformation cannot rely solely on technology or regulation. It also requires strong professional communities and accessible education pathways that help healthcare professionals navigate this transformation.
Through the participation of partners such as CSCT, the XiA project continues to connect community-driven expertise with structured European education initiatives, contributing to the development of the skills ecosystem needed for the next phase of digital health in Europe.