DESAM-ForNet Symposium 2024: Setting the Course for Primary Care Research Infrastructure

Primary care is the foundation of our healthcare system and highly relevant for medical research. Since 2020, the BMBF-funded "Initiative Deutscher Forschungspraxennetze - DESAM-ForNet" has been building structures and research networks with a shared coordination office, supported by the German Foundation for General Medicine (DESAM), a member of the German Society for General Medicine and Family Medicine, and its partner, the Technology and Methodology Platform for Networked Medical Research (TMF).

Review and Outlook at the Symposium in Berlin

Five years of collaboration in the initiative marks a good time to present the results and look towards the future of research in primary care. On November 19-20, 2024, DEGAM and DESAM invited participants to the symposium "Researching Together for Health – Academic Medicine in Clinics and Practice" in Berlin. Prof. Dr. Veronika von Messling from the BMBF positively commented on the work of DESAM-ForNet in her welcome speech: “The research projects created here and today will shape tomorrow's care concepts.”

The DESAM-ForNet initiative has brought together six research networks, with 32 university locations participating. Nearly 1,400 primary care practices are involved, over 1,000 research-qualified staff are participating, and 120 studies are currently running within the research networks. Much has been achieved in developing common foundations for research projects. Today, the following are in place: the Research Ready concept (standards for joint research), guidelines for citizen and patient participation, standards for qualifying research practices, and an IT infrastructure concept.

Research, Clinic, and Practice Go Hand in Hand

DEGAM and DESAM agree: “Our healthcare system faces major challenges. It is clear that only close collaboration between research, clinic, and practice can sustainably solve these challenges. The corresponding infrastructure has been established with DESAM-ForNet,” said Prof. Dr. Martin Scherer, President of DEGAM. Prof. Dr. Ferdinand M. Gerlach, Chairman of DESAM, added: “Healthcare in the future will increasingly be outpatient, digital, and cross-sectorally networked. It is all the more important to scientifically examine and shape these developments through cross-cutting research projects from everyday care practice. This is an almost historic opportunity for general medicine, which we are seizing with great commitment.” Prof. Dr. Jutta Bleidorn, member of the DESAM Foundation Board, emphasized that the development of research data infrastructure must remain a focus: “It is essential that healthcare data, as well as study data, can be used without complications for research – across sectors and integrated.”

Dr. Leonor Heinz, head of the coordination office, concluded: “During the funding period, we were able to strengthen and expand the partnership between academic medical research and primary care practices. Now, we need to implement the developed standards nationwide, build a functional data infrastructure, and involve other stakeholders, such as citizens, in the research projects.”

About the “Initiative Deutscher Forschungspraxennetze”

In 2020, general medical research networks and a coordination office in Berlin joined forces to form the "Initiative Deutscher Forschungspraxennetze (DESAM-ForNet)" to build a nationwide research infrastructure in primary care settings. To date, six research networks with 32 university locations and a coordination office in Berlin are involved. From 2020 to 2025, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the initiative.

Source: Press release on the DEGAM website

Press Contacts

Dr. Leonor Heinz
Head of the Coordination Office for the DESAM-ForNet Initiative
Schumannstr. 9, 10117 Berlin
Phone: 030 – 20 966 98 26
Email: koordinierung@desam-fornet.de 

Natascha Hövener
Press Spokesperson DEGAM
Schumannstr. 9, 10117 Berlin
Phone: 030 – 20 966 98 16
Email: presse@degam.de