Tapani Piha worked in the European Commission from 2001, serving as Head of Unit for 14 years. Since 2019, he has advised the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Innovation Fund Sitra in Finland. He works also as Special Adviser on digital health and healthcare at the Fipra International Network.

In the Commission he was responsible for digital transformation in health, the European Reference Networks for rare diseases, Directive on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare, as well as developing policies on Health Technology Assessment (HTA).

He has a medical specialist degree in public health. He served the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and coordinated Finland's EU policies in health during 1995-2001. At the WHO Regional Office for Europe in 1989-94 he was responsible for the Action Plan for a Tobacco-Free Europe.