The aim of the EXPAND Thematic Network is to address the challenge of moving from a set of point-solution pilots to a large-scale deployment of cross-border facilities that support Member States (MS) in delivering their local eHealth plans and providing cross-border care. In particular, the objective of the Network is to launch a process through which it will be possible to harness the available resources and to act as a catalyst for their operational use on a large scale. While this process shall cater to cross border eHealth services in general, the initial focus of EXPAND shall be to secure the sustainability and expandability of the epSOS pilot services including the proper handover, up to the launch of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) which is planned to be operational in 2014.

In order to achieve its objectives, EXPAND brings together 20 national and regional health authorities and competence centers for semantic interoperability, Standards Developing Organizations (SDO), and a number of EU-supported initiatives such as EuroRec, SemanticHealthNet, PARENT and the EN13606 Association. The project is co-funded by the European Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP).