Stark-Watzinger: We Are Driving Forward Digitalization in Health Research
Federal Minister Stark-Watzinger. © BMBF/Hans-Joachim Rickel
The Medical Informatics Initiative (MII) for data-based health research, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), is entering the expansion and extension phase at the beginning of this year.
Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger explains:
"Data helps heal. That is why we are driving digitalization in health research and are funding the expansion and extension phase of the Medical Informatics Initiative with around 200 million euros until 2026. Our goal is to make the MII the engine and driving force behind a decentralized research data infrastructure for health data that meets all the demands of data protection and IT security. The benefits of our funding are wide-ranging: for example, digital assistance systems can automatically analyze medication prescriptions and routine clinical data. They inform the hospital's ward pharmacists if they detect increased risks of undesirable side effects. In the future, such IT solutions will help to improve healthcare and save lives in all areas of medicine."
(Source: BMBF press release)
Our goal is to make the MII the engine and driving force behind a decentralized research data infrastructure for health data that meets all the demands of data protection and IT security.
Background
The Medical Informatics Initiative (MII) has been establishing data infrastructures at university hospitals since 2018. The MII partners have already demonstrated the added value of their IT solutions in practice using a wide range of use cases - from intensive care to cancer medicine.
The focus of the expansion and extension phase (2023-2026), which is now starting and is funded with around 200 million euros, is on expanded collaboration between the university hospitals and their cooperation with new partners, particularly from regional healthcare.
An essential component of this infrastructure is the Health Research Data Portal (FDPG). It is intended to serve MII partners and all researchers as a central point of contact if they want to use data and biosamples from university medicine. The FDPG is also aimed at the general public. It clarifies which projects are conducting research with patient data and what results have emerged.
In addition, the BMBF is funding six Digital Progress Hubs for Health as part of the MII with around 50 million euros (2021-2025). Their task is to incorporate the pioneering work of the MII into other areas of the healthcare system, from outpatient care in general practitioners' practices to care in rehabilitation and care facilities.
