A Portuguese federated data company, Promptly Health, has announced a strategic partnership with a major Latin American healthcare group, significantly broadening its reach. The collaboration will link health data from approximately 70 million individuals across Europe and Brazil, creating one of the most diverse health-data pools for research on the continent.
Building a Cross-Continental Health Data Network
Promptly Health, based in Porto, specializes in federated data analysis—a method that allows researchers to query distributed datasets without moving or centralizing sensitive patient information. By partnering with the Latin American group, the company aims to overcome a persistent challenge in medical research: the lack of diverse, representative data. The new infrastructure will include records from multiple European countries, including Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, as well as from Brazil.
“This partnership is a leap forward for real-world evidence generation,” said a Promptly Health spokesperson. “We are creating a platform that respects patient privacy while enabling researchers to ask questions that were previously impossible due to data silos.” The federated approach ensures compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Brazil’s Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD), a critical factor given the sensitivity of health information.
Implications for European Research and Public Health
The expanded database could accelerate studies on everything from rare diseases to the long-term effects of treatments. For instance, researchers could compare outcomes for patients with the same condition across different healthcare systems, or track the spread of infectious diseases. The timing is particularly relevant as Europe grapples with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing mental health crisis among rare disease patients.
Health authorities across the EU have been pushing for better data interoperability. The European Health Data Space (EHDS), proposed by the European Commission, aims to facilitate the secure exchange of health data for both primary care and research. Promptly Health’s initiative aligns with these goals, though it operates as a private-sector venture rather than a public infrastructure.
“The diversity of the dataset is its main strength,” noted Dr. Ana Silva, a health data analyst at the University of Lisbon. “Most existing databases are homogeneous—they come from a single country or a single healthcare system. Having data from both Europe and Brazil allows for comparisons that can reveal how genetics, environment, and lifestyle interact.”
Privacy and Ethical Considerations
Federated data systems are increasingly seen as a solution to the tension between data utility and privacy. Instead of copying patient records to a central server, the data remains at its source, and only anonymized aggregate results are shared. This model reduces the risk of data breaches, a concern that has grown after incidents like the phishing campaign impersonating the Portuguese Prime Minister.
However, critics caution that even anonymized data can sometimes be re-identified, especially when combined with other datasets. Promptly Health states that it uses advanced encryption and differential privacy techniques to mitigate this risk. The company also emphasizes that all data use requires explicit patient consent, in line with both European and Brazilian regulations.
The partnership comes as Europe faces new health challenges linked to climate change. The recent record heatwave in Belgium and the phenomenon of tropical nights have highlighted the need for robust health data to understand and respond to environmental health risks. A diverse database could help researchers study how heatwaves affect different populations, from the elderly in Lisbon to outdoor workers in São Paulo.
Looking Ahead
Promptly Health plans to expand the network further, with discussions underway to include data from other European countries and additional Latin American partners. The company also aims to collaborate with academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies, offering a platform for clinical trials and observational studies.
For the European research community, this development represents a step toward more inclusive and powerful health data analysis. As the EU moves forward with the EHDS and other digital health initiatives, private-sector innovations like Promptly Health’s federated network could provide valuable lessons and infrastructure. The challenge will be to ensure that such platforms remain transparent, ethical, and accessible to public health researchers, not just commercial entities.
