Dr. Kramer, which topic do you teach in the GBS certificate program "Data Science in Health"? What is the special focus of your course?
I teach data-based business models in healthcare, with a focus on how sensor-based medical devices and eHealth applications support the profiling of drug candidates in drug development, how medical benefits can be increased by combining pharmaceuticals and medical technology, and how the market for digital therapeutics is developing internationally and specifically for DiGas in Germany.
In my lecture, it is extremely important to me to highlight current examples from the pharmaceutical, medical technology and IT industry from different angles and to point out opportunities and risks from the perspective of the different players.
My goal is to give course participants a solid overview of the topics, to discuss individual examples in detail and at the same time to provide references to sources of information that can be used to independently deepen specific topics.
Why is your topic important for the future development of the healthcare sector?
Just like the retail, media and entertainment industries, for example, healthcare is also undergoing the process of digitization. Data that can be collected with the help of rapidly developing sensor technology and through electronic health applications forms the basis for new disease management platforms in clinics, medical practices and private households. The digitization of healthcare is challenging the various players in the healthcare sector to develop new business models.
Anyone working in clinics, practices, healthcare management, and pharmaceutical and medical device companies who wants to successfully set the course for current and future projects should be familiar with the current and future digitization trends.
What do you think the healthcare sector will look like in 20 years? Or, what do you hope it will look like?
We are already seeing a trend toward collaborative experiments between the major players in the healthcare sector, but also between established companies and startups or between industry and hospital networks, and not just in 20 years' time. Furthermore, companies that were previously active outside of healthcare are entering the patient care and disease management market. This will result in a variety of new long-term partnerships and new business models that will not only be beneficial for the companies, but will significantly improve the quality of medical care for patients, especially in the area of chronic diseases.
We will see a slow transformation of healthcare, where health data collected with sensors and digital applications will enable more personalized medicine, leading to improved patient prognosis. A lot of know-how and creativity will be needed to translate the opportunities arising from the further development of technical solutions into direct benefits for patients.