"We have ideas, we have experience and we are ready for dialog," says VDGH Managing Director Dr. Martin Walger. "Germany needs a new departure in healthcare policy. Our industry provides practicable solutions to jointly advance healthcare, innovation and location quality."
The focus is on a current position paper with which the VDGH shows how laboratory diagnostic care can be strengthened in a targeted manner. The focal points range from a national MedTech strategy and the accelerated inclusion of laboratory innovations in standard care to the targeted promotion of small and medium-sized companies, the reduction of bureaucratic hurdles and the sustainable further development of regulatory framework conditions.
With regard to the industrial healthcare sector (iGW), the VDGH emphasizes its enormous economic importance: more than one million employees, 95 billion euros in gross value added and an export volume of 177 billion euros in 2023. The diagnostics industry is a central part of this: Its products enable 70 percent of medical diagnoses. It is also a driving force for research, innovation and patient safety.
"Our industry secures jobs, promotes innovation and strengthens the resilience of the healthcare system," Walger continues. "But the location threatens to fall behind if we don't take countermeasures - in terms of bureaucracy, digitalization and promoting innovation. We want to help ensure that Germany does not fall behind, but remains fit for the future. This requires a strong foundation in healthcare policy."
The VDGH also points to the special role of the life science research sector. Its technologies create the basis for advances in medicine, for example in gene and cell therapies, and at the same time provide answers to key questions about the future of the environment and nutrition.
