Newsroom &
PUBLICATIONS
In our newsroom you can find out everything about our health networks and projects in Germany and abroad. Stay up to date with the latest in health policy and health science findings and studies.
Latest News
Call to Action for a Strong Economy:
Overcoming the Growth Crisis Through Health
The German economy is under pressure: stagnation, skilled labor shortages, and rising costs are straining businesses and public budgets. At the same time, the potential of a crucial economic factor remains untapped: health. A robust healthcare system not only addresses the challenges of demographic change but also bolsters overall economic development.Without decisive action, the increasing disease burden of an aging population threatens prosperity—a trend that demands targeted economic policy measures. Leading health experts are therefore making a non-partisan call to strengthen health as the foundation for sustainable growth and economic resilience in Germany and Europe.
Health as an Economic Necessity
“Health is the key to a stable and prosperous society,” says Prof. Dr. Dennis A. Ostwald, CEO of WifOR Institute and one of the authors of the paper. “Health policy is thus not only a social but also an economic necessity to address the challenges of demographic change and ensure long-term economic growth.”
The position paper demonstrates how proactive health policies can sustainably improve the population’s quality of life while significantly contributing to overall economic and social stability. “This is particularly important in structurally weak regions most affected by issues like migration, skilled labor shortages, lack of digitalization, and inadequate medical care,” says Dr. Helmut Hildebrandt, CEO of OptiMedis AG.
Experts’ Demands
The authors call for concrete reforms in several areas:
-
Health as the Backbone of Economy and Society: The healthcare system can help address demographic challenges and ensure overall economic stability. With approximately 12% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and over 8 million employees, the health economy already substantially contributes to economic stabilization—with further untapped potential.
-
Prevention as a Growth Driver: Preventing diseases can not only reduce healthcare costs but also enhance the working capacity and productivity of the population. A stronger focus on prevention is a central lever for the long-term financial stability of the healthcare system and a healthy society.
-
Digitalization as an Innovation Driver: Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Telemedicine offer opportunities to make healthcare delivery more efficient and effective. These technologies can improve treatment quality and contribute to prevention and better networking of healthcare actors, especially in areas where medical care is less accessible.
-
Addressing the Skilled Labor Shortage: A new division of tasks and responsibilities in the healthcare system, along with targeted measures to recruit and retain professionals, is essential to overcome the shortage of skilled labor in the health sector and ensure future-proof care. This, in turn, helps maintain the working capacity of the population in Germany and positively impacts overall economic development.
MORE NEWS
Years of life extended, costs reduced: OECD report confirms OptiMedis` care model
If the OptiMedis Integrated Care Model were to be extended to the whole of Germany, more than 146,000 life years could be gained and almost 100,000 life years with limitations due to disabilities or illnesses could be avoided from 2022 to 2050, according to OECD modelling. In May 2023, the OECD published a groundbreaking report (Integrating Care to Prevent and Manage Chronic Diseases: Best Practices in Public Health) on integrated care models that have the potential for transnational transfer. The international best practices – including the OptiMedis model – were selected based on the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, equity, quality of evidence and scale of care, and the long-term outcomes of cross-national transfer were modelled.
OLIVER GRÖNE RECEIVES ASSOCIATE PROFESSORSHIP FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WITTEN/HERDECKE
The University of Witten/Herdecke has awarded our Vice-Chairman of the Board, Dr Oliver Gröne (PhD, MSc), the title of Extraordinary Professor (apl. Prof.) at the Faculty of Economics and Society. The sociologist and doctor of health sciences receives the award in recognition of his extensive scientific achievements in health systems research. The focus of his work is on the complex interrelationships of structures, processes and outcomes in health care, which he has researched in many international funded projects and published in over 100 scientific publications.
ASCERTAIN: NEW HORIZON EUROPE RESEARCH PROJECT TO IMPROVE THE AFFORDABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF INNOVATIVE HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES
We are partner in the HORIZON funded project ASCERTAIN (Affordability and Sustainability improvements through new pricing, Cost- Effectiveness and ReimbursemenT models to Appraise iNnovative health
technologies) that addresses the need of patients, physicians, payers, regulators, and manufacturers to improve the affordability and accessibility to innovative health technologies (including pharmaceuticals) in Europe.
LATEST Publications by or
in cooperation with us
Overcoming the Economic Crisis Through Health – A Call to Action
Helmut Hildebrandt et. al.
G7 and G20 nations are currently experiencing a period of slower growth. Germany is particularly affected and is now in its second year of recession with a recorded price-adjusted decline in gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.2 percent in 2024, the weakest figure among the G7 nations (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, 2025). At the same time, economic growth in all G7 countries in 2023 fell below the global average of 3.2 percent (Destatis, 2024). In recent weeks, various proposals have been discussed to close the financing gap in the healthcare system by increasing health insurance contribution rates. However, these approaches do not consider that a longterm solution can only be achieved if the impact of social security contributions on the economy is also examined in greater detail.
In: WifOR
Publications
Standards for Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services: Development and tools for implementation and measurement
Oliver Groene, Keriin Katsaros, Antonio Chiarenza, Sally Fawkes, Margareta Kristensen
Healthcare professionals have first-hand experience with patients in clinical practice and the dynamics in the healthcare system, which can be of great value in the design, implementation, data analysis and dissemination of research study results. Primary care professionals are particularly important as they provide first contact, accessible, coordinated, comprehensive and continuous people-focused care. However, in-depth examination of the engagement of health professionals in health system research and planning activities-how professionals are engaged and how this varies across national contexts- is limited, particularly in international initiatives. There is a need to identify gaps in the planning of engagement activities to inform the design and successful implementation of future international efforts to improve the responsiveness of health systems to the changing needs of patients and professionals. The aim of this study was to explore how primary care professionals were engaged in the design and implementation plans of an international health policy study led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
In: Health Research Policy and Systems
Groene O, Katsaros K, Chiarenza A, Fawkes S, Kristenson M. Standards for Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services: Development and tools for implementation and measurement. medRxiv. 2024. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.07.22.24309820v1
Engaging primary care professionals in OECD’s international PaRIS survey: a documentary analysis
Candan Kendir, Michael van den Berg, Janika Bloemeke-Cammin, Oliver Groene, Frederico Guanai, Andree Rochfort, Jose M Valderas, Niek Klazinga
Healthcare professionals have first-hand experience with patients in clinical practice and the dynamics in the healthcare system, which can be of great value in the design, implementation, data analysis and dissemination of research study results. Primary care professionals are particularly important as they provide first contact, accessible, coordinated, comprehensive and continuous people-focused care. However, in-depth examination of the engagement of health professionals in health system research and planning activities-how professionals are engaged and how this varies across national contexts- is limited, particularly in international initiatives. There is a need to identify gaps in the planning of engagement activities to inform the design and successful implementation of future international efforts to improve the responsiveness of health systems to the changing needs of patients and professionals. The aim of this study was to explore how primary care professionals were engaged in the design and implementation plans of an international health policy study led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
In: Health Research Policy and Systems
Kendir C, van den Berg M, Bloemeke-Cammin J, Groene O, Guanais F, Rochfort A, Valderas JM, Klazinga N. Engaging primary care professionals in OECD’s international PaRIS survey: a documentary analysis. Health Res Policy Syst. 2024 Jul 4;22(1):76. doi: 10.1186/s12961-024-01170-2. PMID: 38965544; PMCID: PMC11223287.
Data analysis plan of the OECD PaRIS survey: leveraging a multi-level approach to analyse data collected from people living with chronic conditions and their primary care practices in 20 countries
Peter Groenewegen, Peter Spreeuwenberg, Rob Timans, Oliver Groene, Rosa Suñol, Jose Maria Valderas, Mieke Rijken
In view of the increasing number of people with (multiple) chronic conditions, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) initiated the International Survey of People Living with Chronic Conditions (PaRIS survey), which aims to provide insight in patient-reported outcomes and experiences of chronic care provided by primary care practices to support policy development. The objective of this research note is to describe the structure of the data, collected in the PaRIS survey and how the data will be analysed in a multilevel approach for cross-country comparison.
In: BMC Research Notes
Groenewegen P, Spreeuwenberg P, Timans R, Groene O, Suñol R, Valderas JM, Rijken M. Data analysis plan of the OECD PaRIS survey: leveraging a multi-level approach to analyse data collected from people living with chronic conditions and their primary care practices in 20 countries. BMC Res Notes. 2024 Jun 6;17(1):157. doi: 10.1186/s13104-024-06815-7. PMID: 38845064; PMCID: PMC11157922.
CONTACT
Britta Horwege
Head of Communications
+49 40 22621149-52
+49 157 35145620
