Innovation is not a nice-to-have – but a must

In its 2025 coalition agreement, the new German government has a clear focus on promoting innovation and research – including in the healthcare sector. It intends to place particular emphasis on digitalization and promoting innovation. Given the major challenges facing the healthcare system – such as the shortage of skilled workers, demographic change, and increasing cost pressure – and, at the same time, the opportunities offered by technological and medical advances, it is clear that innovations are a key prerequisite for the future viability of healthcare. They form a crucial foundation for efficient, high-quality, and patient-centered care.

The coalition agreement therefore proposes to shape the structural framework in such a way that innovations are systematically promoted while simultaneously reducing bureaucracy. The need for modern, innovative healthcare is emphasized. Key areas include promoting digital approaches such as the electronic patient record (ePA) and telemedicine, as well as, for example, establishing a national biobank to support personalized medicine and reducing bureaucratic hurdles to research and innovation.

Digitalization and AI for efficient care

Digitalization has long since become a central strategic challenge in healthcare. Electronic patient records and AI-supported processes are intended to enable increasingly personalized and efficient care. The central political goal is also to increase the speed and quality of treatment through the meaningful integration of digital tools. Digital policy aims to specifically strengthen key technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics.

In many areas—such as radiology and imaging, cardiology, and oncology—the use of AI has already progressed, although further progress is needed for comprehensive integration into everyday clinical practice. AI can support diagnoses and also help optimize treatment planning. Targeted analysis can identify patterns and correlations that enable individualized treatment. Politically, an "AI offensive" is currently being proposed, also with a focus on research and universities.

With the Digital Act and the Health Data Use Act, the foundations for systematically harnessing the potential of health data were already laid during the last legislative period. Both laws mark a paradigm shift, creating the framework for data-driven, evidence-based, and innovation-friendly healthcare.

Electronic patient records with opt-out provisions can play a key role in this – not only for healthcare but also for research. Clear regulations and simplified access to routine clinical data can place medical research on a new, significantly more robust foundation. This will not only accelerate the transfer of knowledge but also make the path from scientific evidence to application in healthcare more efficient in the future.

Networks as structural changers

Innovations rarely arise in isolation, but rather in interconnected healthcare structures. Cross-disciplinary networks are key to leveraging synergies and making medical innovations available quickly and comprehensively. Close integration of university hospitals with clinics at various levels of care will contribute significantly to this.

In addition, the federal government has advocated for regulations for pioneering approaches such as cell and gene therapies. A "Freedom of Innovation Act" is also intended to take effect and free research from fragmented funding bureaucracy, thus accelerating it.

There are already projects, such as the Genome Sequencing pilot project, that can be interpreted as an innovative and groundbreaking impetus for targeted and improved care. This pilot project can serve as a blueprint for the introduction of further innovations in healthcare. It offers a wonderful opportunity to introduce medical innovations in a protected environment while simultaneously gathering valuable experience that will subsequently facilitate widespread implementation. Targeted implementation can be achieved, particularly for complex therapies that can also be associated with significant costs and medical risks.

Interprofessional collaboration

Another key factor for innovation and greater efficiency in care is interprofessional collaboration. Close collaboration between different professional groups creates new perspectives. This diversity of expertise not only enables more efficient processes but also improves the quality of patient care. Innovations also require an interprofessional environment for successful implementation.

The increasing demands on healthcare professionals due to complex care needs underscore the need for interprofessional collaboration and the readjustment of competencies. They also make modern human resource development strategies essential. This includes the successful integration of academic healthcare professionals into clinical practice.

Likewise, the competencies of all professional groups in healthcare should be better utilized in the future. At the same time, adapting job profiles to the increased complexity can lead to improved quality of care. Interprofessional collaboration and scientific progress go hand in hand. This is precisely what we intend to achieve in the near future with legislation on nursing competency or the "Advanced Practice Nurse."

The future of healthcare will be significantly shaped by innovations. Digitalization, AI, the sensible implementation of innovations, and interprofessional collaboration are key elements that enable medical advances to be translated into clinical practice. Innovation is key to sustainability—especially in the healthcare sector. It is not optional, but the foundation for a future-proof healthcare system. Many of these topics will be discussed in the "Medicine and Innovation Forum" at the Capital Congress 2025.