Germany | eHealth PIB

Though Germany has been a slow adopter of digitalization in healthcare, recent years have seen several promising developments which make the German digital health market worth investing in. A combination of public pressure, political will and a necessity to improve efficiency and cut costs have led to new investments and legislation in the digital health sector.

In 2021, Germany is investing significantly in the digitalisation of its hospitals. The federal ministry of health and the federal states are investing EUR 4,3 billion for concrete projects that work towards the digitalization of hospitals. This law is the latest development of several new initiatives and laws such as the Digital Healthcare Act (or DVG) in December of 2019 that paved the way for reimbursement of health apps (via the Digital Health Applications Ordinance – DiGA) and digital consults. These laws have brought about a steep increase in the use of telemedicine and improve access for patients, give more insight and allow doctors to see their patients via digital means. In 2020, Germany held the presidency of the Council of the European Union and made the digitalisation of healthcare – partly due to the covid-19 pandemic-  one of its priorities.

Though there is still a long way to go, now is the time to invest in a network, collaborate with German partners, distribution channels and lead generation in one of Europe’s biggest digital health markets. However, this can be a challenge for a single organisation or company to accomplish. To help you with this and to capitalize on these opportunities, Task Force Health Care coordinates a cluster of Dutch digital health companies who actively work together to reach the shared goal of expanding their business in Germany. This cluster is one of the partners in the PPP Partners for International Business, supported by the Dutch government (RVO and the Netherlands diplomatic network in Germany).

• Read the full brochure

The RVO programme aims to…

• Promote and position the cluster’s digital health solutions strategically and in an integrated and sustainable manner in order to increase the commercial sales and contracts of individual participants and position the Netherland as an innovative partner in the health arena.
• Facilitate new and existing partnerships by connecting Dutch participants to their relevant counterparts in Germany.
• Create favourable business conditions by reducing trade barriers.
• Establish a positive impact on the Sustainable Development Goals

Creating opportunities through a comprehensive programme

Dedicated NL branding and positioning will be created to resonate with key German stakeholders in healthcare:

• Develop the proposition and corresponding marketing materials to present and position the cluster in the German digital health market (e.g. website, flyer, video)

Targeted activities such as stated below might be organized in Germany:

• (virtual) Incoming and outgoing missions, including roundtables and matchmaking to connect you with your relevant counterparts in Germany
• Participation at strategic digital health trade fairs (such as the DMEA in Berlin) and/or conferences in Germany with an NL Pavilion
• Appointing a liaison in Germany to position the cluster, increase the existing network of Key Opinion Leaders (KOL’s) and to identify opportunities for collaboration (e.g. leads, tenders, projects)
• Knowledge exchange activities that contribute to achieving the ambitions of Dutch SME’s (G2G/K2K)

What’s in it for you?  

The most important aim of your participating in this project is to increase your business in Germany by:

• Getting connected to relevant counterparts: from agents/distributors to Key Opion Leaders and potential customers in the public and the private sector.
• Targeted follow-up activities to convert opportunities into sales: we will organise activities over a period of 3 years.
• Gaining extensive knowledge of and growing your network in the Digital Health Sector in Germany.
• Being part of a network of like-minded entrepreneurs that allows you to share experiences and learn from each other.
• Presenting your solution under the banner of a national public-private programme.
• Providing input on which trade barriers should be addressed.
• All-in participation fee: EUR 5,000 excl. VAT* per year and in-kind hours for participation in the program activities.
  • Includes participation to all activities and services throughout the year (excludes travel and hotel costs)
  • Use of a liaison officer hired by the Netherlands Embassy in Germany, custom made NL branding and support of the Dutch government and Task Force Health Care.
  • Activities could be outbound missions, trade fair participation, inbound missions, matchmaking, roundtables. (2-4 activities per year are foreseen)
  • Which activities are organized is decided on by the needs of the cluster in collaboration with TFHC and the Dutch government
  • *TFHC Partner fee is EUR 4.000,- excl. VAT (interested in becoming a TFHC Partner? visit our website!)

Interested in PIB eHealth Germany?

Are you interested to boost your business in Germany? Do you want to be the first to be informed about our activities in the German ehealth sector? Please register here and we will keep you posted.

Do you have specific needs in Germany we should know about, or do you have any other questions? Please contact Guido Danen, Programme manager Europe.

E: guido.danen@tfhc.nl
T: +31 (0)6 – 53 93 59 64

About TFHC
Task Force Health Care (TFHC) is the platform for the Dutch Life Sciences & Health sector since 1996. Our not-for-profit platform supports Dutch companies, NGOs, knowledge institutions, healthcare providers & governments to realize and strengthen their international ambitions in the LSH sector. TFHC actively represents the interests of the Dutch LSH sector to the Dutch government. THFC has broad experience in assisting Dutch SME’s in entering the German market and has organized activities to and from Germany for the last 10 years. In order to intensify the Dutch efforts towards the German digital health market, TFHC coordinates a group of Dutch companies who share this goal.