German industry talks suggest stakeholder role
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Against the backdrop of structural change for the healthcare economy in Germany, device industry association (BVMed) chairman Anton Schmidt has held a second annual round of bilaterals with hospital directors association (VKD) head Heinz Kolking in a bid to assess where co-operation is necessary. Meeting in Berlin last month, the association heads agreed that they should be ready to co-operate at a political level on areas of common interest. The VKD asked industry to provide more support to clinics in order to improve services. In view of the advent of the DRGs, it is increasingly necessary for industry to play a bigger role in not just the provision of products, but also to become a bigger stakeholder in the entire provision of services surrounding their products, the association suggested.