6 - 8 May 2014, Berlin, Germany.conhIT, the annual event of the health IT industry, closed yesterday (8 May) setting a new record for exhibitor and visitor attendance. Over a period of three days the focus was on solutions designed to assist medical staff, optimise efficiency and quality in healthcare facilities and improve patient care. conhIT provided all healthcare industry players with a platform for learning from one another, exchanging experiences and jointly improving conditions for a broad implementation of health IT.
With 359 exhibitors at the Industrial Fair (12 per cent more than last year) and over 150 Congress, Academy and Networking events conhIT set new records. 6,495 visitors from 65 countries (information as per 8 May, 6 p.m.) came to Berlin to find out about the latest health IT developments, 8 per cent more than at the previous event.
According to Bernhard Calmer, chairman of the board of the German Association of Health IT Vendors which launched conhIT in 2008, these figures underline the increasing importance of health IT in Germany. "Once again we succeeded in combining all aspects of health IT at the Industrial Fair, and in cooperation with our partners put together an attractive programme of events. The fact that companies, users, health insurances, administrations and political figures all attended was proof that IT represents a driving force of a future-oriented healthcare system. We hope that conhIT will have a long-term impact and that by next year we will have taken another big step forward."
"Once again, conhIT provided the industry with an outstanding platform, set the tone and offered an opportunity for dialogue between the industry and everyone involved in the healthcare industry," said Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Executive Officer of Messe Berlin. "Europe's largest exhibition of medical IT solutions provided even more information than in previous years and highlighted topical industry issues - that is what sums up conhIT 2014."
Partner country Denmark provides a fresh impetus for Germany
At the Industrial Fair and the programme of events Denmark, the partner country of conhIT, showed how efforts can be made to accelerate digital networking of the healthcare system. In Denmark plans are in place to invest substantially in IT over the coming years. This is far removed from the current situation in Germany, for although the industry here is already implementing the right solutions, health IT on a broad scale still appears to be a long way off.
On Wednesday, under the heading of 'IT solutions in the healthcare sector', an industry report by bvitg highlighted the fact that, with an annual turnover of 1.6 billion euros and annual growth of 3.2 per cent, this sector is of great importance for the German economy. However, despite it faring well, many companies see greater prospects for growth abroad. In that context, in order to stimulate the German market, besides demanding a uniform IT infrastructure bvitg also called for investment in sensible and purpose-designed care structures which would make it possible to implement the industry's innovations on a broad scale. In his opening speech, referring to the electronic health card, Lutz Stroppe, Under-Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health, said that in order to ensure safe communication of data in the healthcare system it was necessary to make a rapid transition from theory to practice.
conhIT events focus on health IT topics
In close cooperation with numerous industry institutions, bvitg, BVMI e. V., gmds e. V., KH-IT e. V. and ALKRZ, the partners of conhIT, had put together a programme of events that focused on the needs and wishes of the main target audiences.
According to Dr. Christoph Seidel, president of BVMI e. V.: "In 2014 conhIT once again succeeded in providing the main players of the health IT industry with the right platform at the right time for exchanging views, aims and ideas. The concept is a tried and tested one, offers customary quality, is professionally organised and an ideal combination of an Industrial Fair, Congress, Academy and Networking events. It was encouraging to see that this year a growing number of visitors from Germany and abroad took the opportunity to find out more."
Prof. Dr. Paul Schmücker, president of gmds e. V. and president of the conhIT Congress, echoed this view: "In terms of quality and size conhIT has grown in all areas. The Congress, Industrial Fair and Networking events with their wide range of high-quality products, services and events are just what the industry needs."
For Congress visitors 'Added value through IT' is most important
At the closing event of conhIT Bernhard Calmer presented Prof. Dr. Andreas Goldschmidt of Universität Trier and Prof. Dr. Björn Maier of Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg with the award for the best Congress session, for their entry entitled ’Added value through IT’. The session outlined how it was possible for decision-makers to reconcile the view of IT as a cost factor on the one hand with the benefits or added value of IT for users and patients on the other.
Health IT industry promotes itself as a potential employer
The level of interest in conhIT Career services also reached a new high. On 7 May around 200 students attended the Career Workshop, where representatives of industry, science, and hospitals talked about careers for graduates and young professionals.
According to Prof. Dr. Britta Böckmann, who moderated the Career Workshop, "Graduates in Medical Computing are highly sought after in the industry. The jobs awaiting them are exciting and challenging." The potential of and demand within the industry to attract qualified employees was also evident at the subsequent Career get-together, at which many companies and students took the opportunity to establish new contacts. A total of 14 universities had organised excursions to conhIT.
conhIT - save the date
The next conhIT will take place on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds from 14 to 16 April 2015. Companies can already register as exhibitors at conhIT 2015 or apply as Silver or Bronze partners of the event. More details are available on the conhIT website at www.conhit.de.
About conhIT - Connecting Health IT
conhIT targets decision-makers in IT departments, management, in the medical profession, nursing, doctors, doctors’ networks and medical care centres who need to find out about the latest developments in IT and healthcare, meet members of the industry and make use of opportunities for high-level advanced training. As an integrated event, over a period of three days conhIT combines an Industrial Fair, a Congress and Networking Events that are of particular interest to this sector. Launched in 2008 by the German Association of Health IT Vendors (bvitg) as the meeting place for the health IT industry and organised by Messe Berlin, this event recently recorded 359 exhibitors and more than 6,400 visitors in 2014 and has now become Europe’s leading event for the health IT sector.
conhIT is organised in cooperation with the following industry associations: the German Association of Healthcare IT Vendors (bvitg), the German Association for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (gmds), the German Association of Medical Computer Scientists (BVMI). The National Association of Hospital IT Managers (KH-IT) and the Working Group of Directors of Medical Computing Centres at German University Clinics (ALKRZ) have provided contributions to the subject matter..