Launched in 2025 and funded by INTERREG, the HUMAN project collects and disseminates initiatives across Europe aimed at improving care for people in need of care in rural areas. The project team—comprising Project Director Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dietmar Wolff, Project Manager Désirée Neeb, and EU Network Manager Katrin Müller—is taking stock of the project’s progress so far.
Désirée, Katrin, you were at a partner meeting in Portugal in mid-March 2026. What was the focus there?
Désirée: “The core of the meeting was a workshop by the partner regions on the state of their digital healthcare systems. Together, we identified the challenges, needs, and solutions we already have, and how we specifically want to collaborate. Additionally, various health tech companies introduced themselves, expressing interest in partnerships with European partners.”
What have you learned from the European exchange so far?
Désirée: ” This encompasses all digital technologies that make medical services more efficient, safer, and more patient-centered. In Germany, this is inextricably linked to the telematics infrastructure: that’s the nationwide communication network for all stakeholders in the healthcare sector. The electronic health record and e-prescriptions are connected to it. So we’ve looked over our partners’ shoulders and realized that we’re at a similar stage, whether in Switzerland, Sweden, or Ireland.”
Katrin: “This workshop in Portugal also clearly demonstrated what the project is all about: We start with challenges that all European, rural regions face. We also identify what we’re already very good at. Then we exchange solutions and design a joint approach for the future.”
The exchange with our partners in Portugal has shown that the challenges in rural areas are similar across the EU. I see this as a great opportunity: what we are already establishing in Germany with electronic health records and secure data exchange can serve as a model for other European regions. Conversely, we learn a lot from our partners’ approaches.”
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dietmar Wolff, Project Manager
How many partners do you have in the project, and who are they?
Katrin: “The consortium comprises ten European partners from the fields of research, economic development, and public administration—including ministries and regional authorities—from Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Cyprus, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
Désirée: “Our stakeholder group is very important for our work in Bavarian and German healthcare. We meet twice a year with key influencers whose work covers the entire Bavarian healthcare system, as well as Upper Franconian municipalities.”
Katrin: “The project is supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of Health, Care, and Prevention. Together with BayernInnovativ, they are working to expand the implementation of telematics infrastructure in Bavaria, particularly through the ‘Healthcare BY your side’ project. These stakeholders work particularly closely with us and were also on site in Portugal.”
What did the companies discuss?
Katrin: “For example, about how to compensate doctors’ offices for online appointments in a way that makes it worthwhile for the practices, but also ensures they are paid for providing good care and advice to patients—not just for the number of online appointments.”
What will happen with the results of your discussions?
Désirée: ” The next logical step is now to derive concrete measures from these open discussions and the shared potential of our network. We will use the collected best practices to develop practical solutions that can be implemented in Bavaria.”
