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Health Economic Talks 2024: Future Hospital - Hospital of the Future

Health Economics Talks 2024

  • When: November 8, 2024, 9:30h
  • Where: Auditorium of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society, Ernst-Boehe-Strasse 4, Ludwigshafen/Rhine
  • How toregister: Click here to register.
  • Renowned experts from practice and science have been recruited for lectures and panel discussions. More information on the speakers can be found here.
  • The program as pdf.

The challenges facing hospitals are enormous. Many questions are linked to the further progress of current reform projects. However, the aim of the conference is to look beyond current reform discussions and shed light on strategic fields of action. Topics relevant not only to hospital management staff, but also to health insurance companies, the private practice sector, local politicians and other stakeholders will be addressed. Take the opportunity to discuss these issues with proven experts.

Background: Health Economic Talks

The Health Economics Talks have been bringing together decision-makers from all areas of healthcare, politics and science at Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences for over 20 years and provide impetus for successfully mastering the challenges facing this innovative sector in the interests of efficient medical care.

The integration of young health economics expertise in the professional exchange and professional networking offers particular added value. Take the opportunity to get in touch with graduates and students of health economics degree programs at the HWG and win over young professionals.

The Health Economics Talks are organized by the Institute for Management, Economics and Health Care at Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society. The conference is generously sponsored by the Förderverein Gesundheitsökonomie an der Hochschule Ludwigshafen e.V..

Wrap-up of the last Health Economics Talks

With a share of around 5% of national greenhouse gas emissions (see BMG (2022): Joint Declaration Climate Pact Health. Berlin. p. 4.), the healthcare sector has a large ecological footprint. This applies similarly to water consumption, waste and other factors. At the same time, service providers, health insurers and the industrial healthcare sector, as well as public administrations, face major challenges when it comes to tackling the health consequences of climate change. The German Advisory Council on Health and Care therefore considers the effects of climate change to be a key aspect in the future design of a resilient healthcare system (see SVR Health (2023): Resilience in the healthcare system. Report 2023. Berlin. S. 29.). Green health thus addresses both the need to reduce harmful ecological and social consequences in connection with healthcare services - be it in production, transportation, use or disposal - as well as the change in care requirements.

Dr. Michael Eichinger from the University Medical Center Mannheim and Mainz explained the connection between climate protection, climate adaptation and health protection using the example of municipalities in his presentation "Climate change and health: climate protection as health protection". Like Stich, the head of the Health Care Research in Childhood and Adolescence working group at the University of Mainz and the Planetary Health working group at the Mannheim Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University was convinced that the climate crisis was also a health crisis and that it would also lead to a social crisis. The "planetary polytrauma" had progressed far in the years 2015 to 2023 alone and with it the health risk situation. 'Planetary health' must therefore be implemented as a central cross-cutting topic in government structures and transdisciplinary cooperation must be established across sectors. The development, implementation and evaluation of interventions that have a positive impact on the environment and health should be at the forefront. The good news: "There are few conflicts of objectives between the individual departments," Eichinger was convinced.

In the second thematic block, the Health Economics Talks dealt with innovative approaches to sustainability management from professional practice: Burak Isiksal, Head of Infrastructure, Construction and Purchasing at the BG Klinik Ludwigshafen, gave an insight into the perspective of hospitals; Elke Ruppert from Siemens Betriebskrankenkasse gave the perspective of health insurance companies. Thomas Hugendubel from Roche Pharma AG then spoke on the topic of sustainability management from the perspective of the pharmaceutical industry, supplemented by a contribution from Christina Loch, Head of CSR & Sustainability at Caritasverband Speyer, from the perspective of nursing care. Here, as well as in the subsequent panel discussion, it became clear that ambitious sustainability goals can only be achieved if the players along the entire value chain and across professional groups work together. Sustainability therefore has the potential to become a further driver of cross-sector collaboration, it was concluded.

Not least the students were impressed by the practical experience and impulses shared by the speakers. A key finding from the students' perspective was that the topic of sustainability affects all sub-sectors of healthcare in a variety of ways and is already being actively addressed. 

BioTech meets health economics

  • October 14, 2022, 9:30 h at the College of Business and Society.
  • You can find the programhere.
  • The speakers of the GÖG 2022 can be found here.
  • Slides for the lecture Healthcare Biotech: value contribution in Europe, Dr. Zimmermann, WifOR can be found here.
  • Slides to the presentation Healthcare Biotech and Venture Capital, Prof.Dr. Jamin, HWG Ludwigshafen can be found here.

"Germany has the chance to become the leading international biotechnology location. Through the first mRNA vaccine from Mainz, our country has gained global visibility." (1) This is how the ruling traffic light coalition puts it in its coalition agreement.

Against this background, the Health Economics Talks 2022 will shed light on "red" biotechnology, as such the application of biotechnological processes in medical care, from a health economics perspective. Certainly, the mRNA-based vaccine against COVID-19 from the company BioNTech is the best-known success of these innovative processes. However, the enormous importance of red biotechnology is made clear by another figure: so-called biopharmaceuticals now account for almost half of all newly approved drugs in Germany. (2)

We are pleased that we have been able to attract proven experts who will be happy to share their knowledge and answer your questions. The conference will open with a look at success factors for the development of biotechnology clusters. Clemens Hoch, Minister for Science and Health of Rhineland-Palatinate, will discuss the promotion of a biotech cluster in Rhineland-Palatinate from a political perspective. In addition, Thomas Runkel, an acknowledged expert on pharmaceuticals and Asia, will ask what insights can be gained from the development of biotech clusters in Asia and made usable for Germany. Other key topics will be the quantification of the industry'scontribution to value creation inEurope by Dr. Sandra Zimmermann, WifOR Institute, and the special features of investments in biotech startups from an investor's perspective. In his presentation on healthcare biotech and venture capital, Prof. Dr. Gösta Jamin, HWG Ludwigshafen will also explore how more investor funds can be mobilized for this sector, based on his extensive consulting experience with startups. The conference will be rounded off by a look at the hurdles that the developed therapeutic approaches have to overcome in gaining access to the healthcare system: Fabian Berkemeier, IGES will present Innovative Reimbursement Models for High-Cost Therapeutic Approaches and Prof. Dr. Stefan Lhachimi, HS Neubrandenburg will examine Health Technology Assessment strategies in the context of biotechnology.

The Health Economics Talks 2022 bring together experts and decision-makers from  medical biotechnology companies, politics, health care and science and provide impetus to successfully master the challenges facing this innovative industry in the interest of efficient medical care.

In addition to networking among the professional audience, the inclusion of young health economics expertise offers a special added value of the Health Economics Talks. Take the opportunity to get in touch with graduates and students of the health economics courses at the HWG and thus win young professionals for your company, for your organization.

(1) SPD, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN,FDP (2021): wagen mehr Fortschritt. COALITION AGREEMENT 2021-2025.P. 17.

(2) Vfa - German Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies (2022): Strong biotech sector ensures growth and more employees. As of June 2, 2022. Online https://www.vfa-bio.de (accessed June 12, 2022).

This year's Health Economics Talks focus on the region as a shaping space for health care. This regional perspective was already suggested by the German Council of Health Experts in 2009.1 Most recently, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen have called for the establishment of "health regions "2 and the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region GmbH has launched a strategy project "Rhine-Neckar Health Region" together with the Gesundheitsplattform Rhein-Neckar e.V. (Rhine-Neckar Health Platform).3

The conference aims to provide food for thought on how the design space "health region" can be filled with innovative care concepts. Two topics will be addressed, and concrete projects will be presented in each field:

  • Topic 1: Neighborhood management
  • Topic 2: Regional aspects of care - shaping innovative spaces.

The Corona pandemic is a stress test for our healthcare system and healthcare systems worldwide. The pandemic is challenging systems not only in terms of the scope and quality of care they provide, but also in terms of their adaptive capacity and resilience. This was the thread taken up by the Health Economics Talks - GÖG 2020. Based on the experiences with and in the Corona pandemic, proven experts addressed approaches for the design of adaptive and at the same time resilient healthcare in expert presentations. In addition, students were involved in the development of innovative solutions through a hackathon.

GÖG 2020 was a great success in digital format: for the first time, the symposium was offered completely virtually and in combination with a hackathon. The presentations were recorded and are available for you.

For the first time, graduates of the health economics programs contribute their expertise to the organization of the conference, so that applies: the GÖG 2020 are a format for, with and by young experts in health care!

Conference team.

Dr. Martin Albrecht
Managing Director and Head of Division Health Policy, IGES Institute, Berlin

Thomas Czihal
Zi - Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance in Germany, Berlin

Jürgen Graf
Head of Integrated Service Management, AOK Baden-Württemberg

Dr. Wulf-Dietrich Leber
Head of Hospital Department, GKV Spitzenverband, Berlin

Vera Lux
Management Consulting Nursing and Health Care, Cologne

Jochen Metzner
Head of Health Department, Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Health and Demography, Rhineland-Palatinate

Prof. Dr. Volker Ulrich
Chair of Economics III - Finance, University of Bayreuth