Project status:		Current
Project period:		10/2008 to 04/2010
Project period:		Health technology

 

Description

 

acatech works to enhance cooperation in the health sector to ensure that the potential of medical engineering can be fully harnessed to contribute to establishing an optimal health care system and an internationally competitive health care management industry.

As a follow-up activity of the acatech "Innovative power of health technologies" expert opinion and the "Hot topics of medical engineering" expert discussion in 2007, acatech invited leading representatives of the health sector to the "Medical engineering round table" on 20 November 2008 to discuss rapid access to new medical technology and new financing avenues in the health sector.

The "Medical engineering round table" event took place on 20 November 2008 as a joint initiative with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) during the MEDICA trade fair in Düsseldorf. The experts discussed how to accelerate the approval and reimbursement procedures for medical products. The expert committee picked up the "Pilot project" recommendation (promising medical technology should be tested in selected excellence centres over a limited period) and the "Fast track programs" recommendation (testing and approval of innovative medical technology projects that have been proven to be effective in pilot projects should be accelerated); it also addressed ideas discussed by the Industry-Science Research Alliance as part of the High-Tech Strategy launched by the Federal government.

The medical engineering round table kicked off a much needed discussion on sustaining and promoting the competitiveness of medical engineering in Germany. This is a first step. Additional steps will be needed to work out a joint approach to promoting medical engineering in Germany for policy makers, trade associations, industry and science.

The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) will take up the acatech initiative in its "Workshop discussions" – with the involvement of the Academy. This is a very positive development, since the initiated debate will now be set forth in an analysis of specific examples and an examination and closer definition of the solution suggestions on the basis of specific examples.

It is notable that all important players in the health sector are willing to discuss specific measures to break down innovation barriers in a joint effort. After all, more patents have been registered in the medical engineering industry than in any other sector in Germany, with a total turnover of 18 billion euros and a workforce of almost 100,000 people.

The current acatech publication, "Medical engineering round table: Avenues for accelerating the approval and reimbursement of innovative medical products", summarises the most important positions of the round table. It also shows ways to facilitate access to new medical technology in the health care sector.

 

Participants in the medical engineering round table

• Policy: Federal Ministries of Health (BMG), Economics and Technology (BMWi) and Education and Research (BMBF)
• Trade associations: German Medical Technology Association (BVMed), German industry association for optical, medical and mechatronic technologies (SPECTARIS) and the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI)
• Sponsors: Medical Service of the Central Association of Health Insurances (MDS) and Techniker Krankenkasse (TK)
• Testing and approval institutions: Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) and the German Institute of Medical Documentation and Information (DIMDI)
• Medical engineering industry: Aesculap AG (Tuttlingen) and Biotronik GmbH & Co KG (Berlin)
• Science: acatech health technology topical network, VDI/VDE-IT and German Society for Biomedical Technology in the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (DGBMT in the VDE)

Quotation

 

"It was short-sighted to evaluate new technologies in medicine only on the basis of the cost of a particular measure. On the contrary: An expensive, innovative product often lowers the total cost of a therapy because it reduces the number of days in the hospital, reduces the risk of infection or improves the quality of life." (Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmitz-Rode)

 

Project group