What added value can be gained from linked health data? How can innovative healthcare products be introduced into the healthcare system? What are the financial implications of digital progress in the German healthcare system? Speakers from various areas of the healthcare sector provided answers to these and other questions on May 5, 2022, in Leipzig.

The first DIGITAL HEALTH CONFERENCE LEIPZIG, organized by the WIG2 Institute together with the Junior Professorship Health Economics and Management of the University of Leipzig on behalf of the Office of Economic Development of the City of Leipzig, took place in early May 2022. More than 120 participants met on-site at the Alte Wollkämmerei Leipzig. In addition, more than 300 people accessed the online broadcast of the event. The conference was divided into three expert panels on the topics of “Health Data,” “Health Innovations,” and “Health Economics.” Top experts from research, politics, hospitals, health insurance companies, and industry shared their insights and perspectives on the digital healthcare system’s status quo and future.

“Digital Health”—the connection between health and digital technologies—is increasingly important in our healthcare system. The foundation for many new concepts is laid with health data’s help. Prof. Dr. Thomas Neumuth, Technical Director (CTO) at the Innovation Center Computer Assisted Surgery (ICCAS) at the University of Leipzig, brought examples of this in his outlook on data-based innovations in medicine and research. Among other things, he spoke about digital twins and digital models based on networked patient health data. With their help, new therapeutic approaches and treatment methods can be tested realistically. Delia Strunz, Director of Government Affairs & Policy Germany at Johnson & Johnson, explained in her presentation that the beneficial use of data is often at odds with data protection, using the example of a project for the exchange of experience between surgical teams from different hospitals supported by data technology. Afterward, Danilo Pudwell, Head of Hospital Competence Center, 4K ANALYTICS, looked at the vision of health data being processed in a sovereign, fully comprehensive, and beneficial way. He advocated breaking down data silos and implementing centralized data management via a data lake.

How can the explorative, innovative, networked handling of health data and data protection be reconciled in terms of optimal, patient-centered care? Moderator Johannes Endres, Head of Consulting at Althammer & Kill, looked at the first three speakers with the audience in the subsequent discussion round.

In the second part of the event, the first two speakers outlined the winding path of digital apps via the reimbursable market to the patient:in. Dr. Tonio Schönfelder, Head of Health Services Research at the WIG2 Institute, provided an overview of the numerous steps required for scientifically sound proof of benefit for a digital health application (DiGA) to become part of standard care. Alexander Voigt, project manager and senior consultant at Digital Oxygen, then took over. He described challenges that should be overcome and opportunities that should be seized for DiGA to be better perceived as a useful offering by both providers and patients. Looking to the future of the digital health industry, Susanne Koch, eHealth & Association Strategy Officer at the German Federal Association for Health IT (bvitg e.V.), concluded by providing further impetus on how, for example, the Digital Health Application and the Digital Patient Record (DiPA) can be established as care modules.

An excursion into the practice of four successful digital health startups formed the exciting conclusion of the second panel. Among other things, digital helpers against sleep-through disorders and applications in the telemedical field were presented.

Discussing their value and benefits is inevitable when implementing new digital tools. In the last part of the conferences, J.-Prof. Dr. Dennis Häckl, Junior Professor of Health Economics and Management at the University of Leipzig, started with an excursus on the health economic determination of the value of digital care innovations and used examples to illustrate the use of DiGA in the treatment of civilization diseases. At the end of his presentation, Häckl concluded that current developments indicate a stronger orientation toward the value of service and that this can contribute to efficient care. After this scientific consideration, Dr. Stefan Walzer, Managing Director MArS Market Access & Pricing Strategy, gave a practical insight into the pricing of digital health innovations – with best practices and learnings from established procedures. The important question of how digitization will change the tasks and roles of health insurers – away from payer to digital care manager – was addressed by Dr. Elmar Waldschmitt, Board Representative at BIG direkt gesund and Managing Director of the Healthy Hub.

In a final Q&A session, the speakers’ perspectives on the benefits, value, costs, and opportunities of digital care innovations were again discussed with moderator Prof. Dr. Amelie Wuppermann, professor at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and scientific advisory board member at the Federal Social Security Office.

After three informative and diverse panels, the participants could talk to each other and network with representatives from politics, service providers, industry, and corporate bodies.

Martin Blaschka, Head of Network and Events at the WIG2 Institute and Organizing Director of the conference, concluded by giving an outlook on the continuation of the format: “Digital healthcare is and will continue to be a highly dynamic environment. In the future, the DIGITAL HEALTH CONFERENCE LEIPZIG should therefore take place on an annual basis to give this important topic and the innovative Leipzig healthcare industry a stage with nationwide appeal.”

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