eHealth Symposium - Bridge to a digital future

Under the motto "Digitalization as a driver for better medical care", this year's 4th eHealth Symposium Southwest, which took place in a digital form, dealt with the main topics of telemedicine, mobile eHealth apps and digitalization in hospitals.

The eHealth Symposium 2021: For the first time as an online event

Since their first event in 2018, more than 100 stakeholders have exchanged ideas annually on current and future uses of artificial intelligence, Big Data, precision medicine and other innovative ideas.

Behind the scenes of the digital event

Digitization: New opportunities

Digitization in healthcare was significantly driven by the COVID-19- pandemic. The introduction of digital patient records, the expansion of telemedicine, and the integration and expansion of Big Data and AI are just a few examples reflecting this development.

According to Christian Klose, Federal Ministry of Health, patients are also increasingly using digital services:

Before the pandemic, one in five saw video consultation as useful. In July 2020, one in three said they saw more value in video consultations as a result of the pandemic.
Christian Klose, Federal Ministry of Health

Concluding that the digital transformation is underway, Klose said: "Germany is building a bridge to a better, digital future in healthcare."

Digitization: Driver for better medical care

Around 300 representatives from the fields of medicine, research, business and politics took advantage of this thematic focus of the event to listen to exciting presentations on the rapid developments and innovative solutions with practical relevance in the field of eHealth and to exchange information with each other via online chat.

For example, Dipl.-Psych. Jan Spilski, CRO and co-founder of the startup insight.out GmbH, dealt with "Digital Diagnostics and Intervention" in his presentation.

Dipl.-Psych. Jan Spilski, CRO and co-founder of the startup insight.out GmbH

Analog psychological testing methods are still very important in practice, but the need for computer-based alternatives is growing rapidly in the wake of the digital transformation.
Dipl.-Psych. Jan Spilski, CRO and co-founder of the startup insight.out GmbH

insight.out supports this change by developing holistic and field-tested solutions around the digitalization of testing processes.

"Data-driven clinical trials of implants using virtual patients" was the topic of the presentation by Gloria Zörnack, VR Engineer at virtonomy.io, a startup that aims to end the use of animals and humans in clinical trials. Instead, the company is advancing the use of virtual, data-driven patients. Among other things, Zörnack sees advantages in a shortened time to market, significantly reduced costs, and an acceleration of medical innovations.

Gloria Zörnack, VR engineer at virtonomy.io

In addition to presentations by many different startups, lzv. Prof. Dr. sc. Dr. med. Robert Bernat, senior physician at the Westpfalz-Klinikum, presented digital data glasses that have been in use in their cardiology department for several months.

The Corona-pandemic also gave our company an enormous digitalization boost. We implemented innovative measures at a rapid pace.
Peter Förster, Managing Director Westpfalz-Klinikum GmbH

Thanks to the data glasses, employees at the clinic can now receive virtual training from product specialists in the technology or software they are using.

The healthcare industry: between digital upheaval and AI

This year's eHealth Symposium 2021 once again offered representatives of hospitals, physicians in private practice, business institutions, research companies, startups and medical researchers - not only from the southwest - the opportunity to inform each other about developments and solutions in the field of eHealth.

Stefan Kohl, Managing Director of 5-HT Digital Hub Chemistry & Health, also considered the event a complete success:

We are delighted with the high quality and breadth of digital solutions with great practical relevance that we organizers were able to offer guests at this year's eHealth Symposium. The event supports our efforts to promote digital innovations in the healthcare sector.
Stefan Kohl, Managing Director of 5-HT Digital Hub Chemistry & Health

After all, that is also the mission of the Digital Hub Initiative, which was launched by the German Federal Ministry of Economics, says Kohl.

Thus, the 5th eHEalth Symposium Southwest will also be held next year, on January 12, 2022. Dr. Stefan Weiler, Managing Director of the Business + Innovation Center Kaiserslautern (bic), is already looking forward to this event:

This is the fourth time we have witnessed how innovative and active our southwest is in the field of healthcare developments. From young startups to ideas from clinics and research institutions, we were able to show a wide range. In 2022, we will increase again.
Dr. Stefan Weiler, Managing Director of the Business + Innovation Center Kaiserslautern (bic)

The following startups presented at the eHealth Symposium 2021: