Diseases tend to ignore the boundaries of care sectors – the quest for integrated care
Integrated care has been a recurring point of discussion in the German healthcare System for numerous years, and it also continues to be a popular and integral part of the agendas of so many healthcare conferences.
Last year, the German federal health ministry had even developed a set of proposals to promote integrated care on regional levels (so-called health regions) but failed to include them in the final version of the legislation to strengthen care delivery. Looking at this history, one must conclude that little has been done to really facilitate, drive or implement integrated care structures on a broader scale. Care delivery is still largely organized in silos, and cross-border patient management is far from being the rule.
Yet several regional care networks have been built, and they shine across some regions in Germany, almost as beacons of hope. Often these regional networks struggle with financing and organizational issues, as reimbursement and financial support from the public healthcare system is not a given but depends on so-called individual and often complex “selective contracts” (Selektivverträge) with the payers. As a result, these individual payer contracts are rarely used. It is estimated that only about 1% of public health payers’ expenditures are related to integrated care and respective networks. In addition, the absence of digital platforms or solutions for data exchange based on electronic patient records, as well as exaggerated regulations on data privacy and security, have hampered the implementation of integrated care networks.
Looking at the situation of German healthcare today, the country is in great need of the treatment and care of patients across silos. The country’s healthcare system is facing numerous challenges resulting from an increasingly older population, a rise in chronic diseases, a lack of healthcare staff, and rising treatment costs. All of these lead to a substantial financial pressure on the system. Several studies have shown that better coordinated patient care can lead to considerable cost savings. To this extent, integrated care networks can be a proper means of addressing the healthcare system’s challenges.
This is why HIMSS has decided to bring together different healthcare stakeholders to try and move forward on this topic.
The HIMSS D-A-CH Community Member Meeting in Berlin on February 12, 2026, aims to examine and discuss what it takes to implement integrated care networks on a broader scale. To accomplish this, we will have a look at networks that have already been established and the associated key learnings from these best practices. We will also identify digital tools and platforms that can be used to coordinate networks, their processes, ways-of-working, and their ability to exchange patient data in a safe and secure way. Finally, we aim to assemble experts and decision makers from different healthcare stakeholders to discuss and share with us their insights on how things can be advanced to finally bring upon the notion of integrated care.
We are looking forward to welcoming you to Berlin on February 12. Join us and be part of the quest for integrated care.