BARMER is one of the largest statutory health insurance providers in Germany. Its guiding principle is to think ahead when it comes to health. BARMER actively supports its 8.7 million insured members in all matters related to health, illness, and care, inspires them to lead healthier lives, and empowers them to help themselves by promoting individual health literacy.

To this end, its approximately 14,000 employees develop innovative care offerings and enable rapid access to the latest advancements in medicine, prevention, rehabilitation, and care.
BARMER sets trends in the digitalization of the healthcare system, for example with the eCare electronic health record, the BARMER app, and many other digital services. At the same time, it leverages its experience for intensive research. The focus is on projects designed to further develop and optimize medical care. With the Institute for Health System Research, BARMER operates a dedicated center of excellence for healthcare and health system research.

Based in Hamburg, Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) is Germany’s largest health insurance provider, serving 12 million customers who are supported by approximately 15,000 employees: via a toll-free service hotline available 24/7, 365 days a year, and at 183 customer service centers nationwide. The TK’s stated goal is to tangibly improve healthcare for patients and make it more efficient. To this end, it goes well beyond its statutory mandate and actively participates in projects focused on greater networking and cooperation, more digital solutions such as telemedicine, and the smart use of data.

The Hornheide Specialty Clinic is a center of excellence for dermatology/dermato-oncology, plastic surgery, and oral and maxillofacial surgery. As a specialty clinic with an international reputation, we are committed to providing not only excellent medical care but also special attention, support, and personalized care for our patients. The Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery and Hand Surgery, led by Prof. Dr. Tobias Hirsch, looks back on more than 85 years of tradition in plastic surgery. A team of experienced specialists provides our patients with the full range of services in our field, always at the cutting edge of modern standards.

Our clinic is distinguished by a unique form of interdisciplinary collaboration. The particularly close integration of plastic surgery, dermatology, dermatosurgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, dermatohistopathology, oncology, and anesthesia and pain management ensures that we provide our patients with care of the highest standard.
  As a consortium partner, the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Hornheide Specialist Clinic treats and cares for patients at the University Hospital Münster within the scope of university-based comprehensive care. Additionally, we represent the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery in teaching and research at the University of Münster. 

OFFIS is an internationally oriented, application-oriented research and development institute for computer science founded in 1991 and based in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. With an average of 70 ongoing projects, OFFIS and its approximately 250 employees conduct research and prototype development at the highest international level in the fields of energy, society, health, and production. In doing so, OFFIS collaborates with over 700 partners from industry and academia worldwide.

OFFIS’s main areas of focus are energy, society, health, and production.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Greiner has headed Research Group 5 (RG 5) for Health Economics and Health Management at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Bielefeld University since 2005. The RG 5 team consists of economists and health scientists and currently comprises thirteen research staff members as well as numerous student and research assistants.

The team focuses on issues related to health economics and healthcare management. Key research areas include health economic evaluations and modeling, quality of life measurement, e-health, and issues related to the management of healthcare facilities. Another area of research is the design and evaluation of new forms of care—for example, digital applications aimed at improving medication safety and pharmaceutical supply. 

The zeb.business school at Steinbeis University is responsible for the evaluation from the perspective of industrial and organizational psychology. The goal is to develop an economically sound and methodologically innovative approach that examines the effects of the new care model on the development of regional care networks and the transfer of knowledge and experience between professional groups and decision-makers. Improved cooperation, network formation, and greater adherence to guidelines ultimately ensure greater care security and more effective use of resources.

The zeb.business school has extensive experience in conducting occupational science studies, particularly in the healthcare sector, and led the evaluation of the “Land|Rettung” project, which was funded by the Innovation Fund. Previously, a project funded by the State Center for Health in North Rhine-Westphalia (LZG.NRW) to improve cross-sectoral care for elderly patients at 48 facilities with over 0.5 million inpatients annually was successfully completed, as was a project funded by the BMBF to recruit and retain skilled personnel, in which four university hospitals with a combined total of approximately 20,000 employees participated. The evaluation director, Prof. Dr. Joachim Hasebrook, has served as an expert for, among others, the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag (TAB) and the Scientific Technical Options Assessment (STOA) of the European Parliament, and has led numerous federally and state-funded projects.