Healthcare industry associations call for an e-health strategy for Germany

Press Release

BIO Deutschland is one of a number of healthcare industry associations to have issued a joint call to the upcoming German government, asking it to develop a national e-health strategy that will quickly and successfully accelerate the currently sluggish pace of digitalization in Germany’s healthcare sector.

The call has been issued by BIO Deutschland, the Federal Association for Information Technology (Bitkom), the German Association of Health IT Vendors (BVITG), the German Medical Technology Association (BVMed), the German High-Tech Industry Association (SPECTARIS), the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (VFA), the German Diagnostics Industry Association (VDGH) and the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI).

The four main pillars of industrial healthcare – medical technology, biotechnology, health IT and the pharmaceutical industry – believe that an e-health strategy would help to guide everyone involved in the healthcare system and allow them to define and achieve concrete goals.

The associations are therefore calling for a strategy to be drawn up in a process moderated by policymakers and involving all stakeholders across all policy areas, and to then implement it nationwide via a concrete plan of action. This would substantially boost the digitalization of healthcare in Germany and would allow the country to catch up with global trends.

The industry associations stress that the aim of digitalizing healthcare is to secure high-quality healthcare provision for the long-term, continuously improve it, and maintain its fundability. At the same time, they say, Germany’s position as a location for business and research should be expanded and strengthened.

The signatories to the call are therefore appealing to Germany’s leaders to make implementing a national e-health strategy one of their first tasks after forming a government.

The full call can be found here: