Think big(ger)

In the past, standards played an essential role in the development of healthcare IT in general and in that of VISUS products specifically. The many recollections on the occasion of our 20th anniversary are testimony to this.

As far as VISUS is concerned, the strategy for the coming years is crystal clear: we will also maintain our comprehensive knowledge and our deep understanding of standards in the future in order to ensure interoperability. What is more: we will continue to expand and refine it further with a view to future challenges. One of these challenges in particular concerns the standardization of processes in larger infrastructures. In the past 20 years, we conceptualized on a departmental or institutional scale, but in the future, it's Think big! This is because the trend is clearly going in the direction of national infrastructures – whether ELGA in Austria, the EPD in Switzerland, or the ePA within the telematics infrastructure (TI) in Germany.

What does this mean for VISUS?

That our mission in the future will no longer only involve creating added value with our products in hospitals and medical practices and increasing efficiency in institutions. Rather, we will help shape national value-creation chains which are economically and medically relevant. This may sound pompous, but it is based on completely practical considerations: I would like for patients to get their health data, for healthcare organizations to collaborate, and for TI to work. These wishes will come true only if manufacturers such as VISUS develop standards for larger infrastructures and provide user-friendly solutions in the end which can be integrated into the daily routine of physicians and medical staff. What I currently feel positive about: gematik, who is responsible for the design of the TI as a core technical element, is opening up and is clearly communicating the desire for collaboration with standards experts such as VISUS.

Perspectively we have to think even further – or better: bigger

If we want to network national healthcare systems with one another to provide care in border regions, at times of crisis such as the corona crisis, or for the treatment of rare diseases, we have to create the preconditions required for this from Europe and Germany. The foundation for this has already been laid: in the European healthcare systems, many competent and motivated people in state or professional ethics institutions work on technical specifications. I hope that – along with training these people in the international standards – some of them will also play a part in the international standardization bodies and contribute over the long term to the further development of the international standards based on our European requirements and values.
As VISUS, we are ready to take this path and are looking forward to clearing one hurdle after another in the next 20 years.