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.
