image: This integrated model delineates the multi-stakeholder architecture essential for medical data assetization and governance. The ecosystem is centered on a trusted data space platform that facilitates secure data exchange among diverse stakeholders, including data producers (healthcare institutions), data users (researchers, pharmaceutical companies), third parties (service providers), and platform providers. Government entities provide regulatory oversight and strategic direction, while research institutions and professional associations contribute to capacity building and standardization. The framework highlights stakeholder responsibilities throughout the entire data lifecycle—including collection, storage, governance, integration and circulation, analysis, application, and compliance—where the application of data generates new data, sustaining and advancing the lifecycle. Three foundational domains underpin the ecosystem: technology, institutions, and ethics. This comprehensive approach addresses the complex interplay among technical capabilities, regulatory requirements, and ethical considerations necessary for realizing the transformative potential of medical data while maintaining public trust and ensuring equitable access to its benefits.
Credit: Jian Wang, Anqi Lin, Yedong Huang, Gezheng Li, Tianqi Chen, Chudi Sun, Weiye Qian, Shiqi Ren, Hank Z.H. Wong, Yanxi Ding, Lin Zhang
Background: In the digital health era, medical data is key to personalized medicine and population health management, but its sharing and use face challenges—making a Medical Data Element Ecosystem (MDEE) essential to unlock its full potential.
Methods: This study reviews literature to compare international frameworks with Chinese initiatives and examines cases like medical consortia and cross-border platforms.
Results: We propose the MDEE practical framework, covering micro-level stakeholder roles/responsibilities and macro-level progress in technological innovation, institutional reforms, and ethical governance. It identifies China's key priorities: construction of federated systems, talent and capacity building, ethical framework development, global standard participation, and digital equity assurance.
Conclusion: The MDEE practical framework offers an integrated approach from operational to strategic levels. In addition, building this ecosystem needs managing three key relationships: multi-stakeholder co-creation, integration of global best practices with local innovation, and balancing data protection with innovation. By addressing these issues, China could work toward developing an MDEE that promotes data security, efficient circulation, fair value distribution, and sustainable development, potentially maximizing the value of medical data.
Method of Research
Literature review
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Medical Data as a Key Asset in the Digital Health Era: A Framework for Challenges and Strategies
Article Publication Date
11-Nov-2025
COI Statement
Lin Zhang serves as a member of the Editorial Board for iMetaMed. He was excluded from editorial decision‐making related to the acceptance of this article for publication in the journal. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest.