National Digital Health Symposium 2021 Highlights Perspectives of a Connected Health Data Ecosystem
The National Digital Health Symposium 2021, broadcast live from Berlin on December 15, 2021, discussed the opportunities and perspectives of a connected health data ecosystem against the backdrop of the current coalition agreement.
The participating experts unanimously agreed that the digital transformation of the healthcare system, as outlined in the coalition agreement, needs to be accelerated and sustained, requiring better networking and communication among healthcare stakeholders. The symposium was organized by the TMF - Technology and Methods Platform for Networked Medical Research.
Representatives from politics, research, industry associations, social self-administration, and service providers provided insights in several sessions into the contributions sustainable data infrastructures and digital care models can make to address future challenges in health research and care.
Advancing the Digital Transformation of Healthcare
Data from the healthcare sector should be more readily available for research purposes in the future. However, this requires simplifying access to such data for both public and private research. This goal is expected to be closer to realization during the current legislative period with the introduction of a Research Data Act and a Health Data Utilization Act. Both acts will soon be introduced to facilitate better scientific data use in accordance with GDPR. It must be ensured that research data is easily accessible and timely to avoid compromising the scientific value of the data assets. When looking at the European research data space, an efficient Health Data Utilization Act is needed to enable Germany to be compatible with Europe, explained Prof. Dr. Ferdinand M. Gerlach, Chairman of the Expert Advisory Board for the Assessment of Developments in the Healthcare System.
On the path to legally anchored data release for research ("data donation"), broad public acceptance needs to be promoted, and the benefits of data use must be clearly communicated. "There is already a high acceptance among patients for opt-out solutions for the secondary use of care data. Nevertheless, there is still a high need for communication in the general population regarding the specific benefits of this data for research," explained Prof. Dr. Michael Krawczak, Chairman of the Board of the TMF.
Expansion of a Decentralized-Federated Research Data Infrastructure Must Be Advanced
The speakers once again noted that the data landscape in healthcare is very heterogeneous and follows the structures and processes of patient care. Accordingly, a "decentralized research data infrastructure," as envisaged in the coalition agreement, appears logical, especially in the healthcare sector. Sebastian C. Semler, CEO of the TMF, emphasized in this context: "We should rather speak of a 'decentralized-federated research data infrastructure' because federated elements are needed to make decentralized data collection and storage practically usable." Germany still needs to agree on these federated structures. According to the panel, one could orient oneself to similar architectures in European and international contexts. The decentralized data must be brought together through linkage using a data integration center. Prof. Dr. Jonas Schreyögg, Head of the Hamburg Center for Health Economics at the University of Hamburg, emphasized that creating such a data integration center requires bold political action. Other countries such as France, England, or Finland could serve as models for its design.
Sebastian C. Semler, CEO of the TMF, summarized:
In order to make health data legislation conducive to better data use and better research opportunities, all relevant stakeholders from research and healthcare need to cooperate.
A detailed post-event report on the National Digital Health Symposium 2021 will be available online shortly.
Press Contact
Wiebke Lesch
Phone: 030 22 00 24 731
E-mail: presse@tmf-ev.de
About the National Digital Health Symposium
The National Digital Health Symposium serves as a forum for networking and exchange among service providers, payers, and medical research, incorporating the perspectives of manufacturers and patients. The goal is to accelerate the digital cultural change, realistically address challenges, approach them constructively, and collectively shape the future healthcare system.
About the TMF
The TMF - Technology and Methods Platform for Networked Medical Research e.V. stands for research, networking, and digitalization in medicine. It is the umbrella organization for medical collaborative research in Germany, where top researchers exchange knowledge and develop ideas and concepts together, thus shaping the future of medical research in the digital age. In 2019, the TMF and the Society for Insurance Science and Design (GVG) launched the National Digital Health Symposium.
