Health - a driving force for economic and structural change in the Ruhr Area Josef Hilbert Institut for Work and Technology, Gelsenkirchen Faculty of Medicine at the Ruhr-University Bochum Member of Steering Committee of MedEcon Ruhr
We are going to talk about Health Industries: What do we understand about it? biotec Sports and leisure medtec & gerontological products management medical handcraft wellness Vast and differential set of (sub)branches, far more than just hospitals, doctors & nurses Among the largest sectors of the economy service housing hospitals and self- practitioners help in- & outpatient healthcare trade in medical rehabilitation, products health resorts pharmaceutical industry pharmacies health tourism consulting services Recent trend: Non-health branches try to upgrade their products by adding health components. Experts expect health to be a growth industry in the years to come. Copyright: IAT healthy nutrition
Health and Economy - the traditional point of view: High Performance Health is both a necessity and burden to the economy Civilized countries need a well developed health care system To avoid political turmoil To improve human capital To expand learning capacities and employability To help people (patrimomial responsibility) However Advanced d health h care systems are very costly Are suspected to hinder other parts of the economy to prosper more dynamically Particularly in those countries characterized by a publicly financed health system
Recent research gives good reasons for a paradigme shift: 1 Investment in health banks on positive economic side effects Provision i of jobs Push for a broad set of skills Local procurement Reduction of poverty by means of improved access to health and enhanced employability
Recent research gives good reasons for a paradigme shift: 2 Health care is an essential driving force of economic change and innovation In progressive regions health is the job provider No. 1 and the hidden champion of structural change Health is ranking higher and higher in consumer preferences Health is the main field for modern high tech applications Health products and services are expected to become the world s growth industry No. 1
Regions seize the chance of the paradigm shift: From money pit to economic power house! Health services are provided locally/regionally. Life science, health service design and medical know how are traded internationally. High performance health regions pave the way to international cooperation and exchange. By targeted cooperation with medically advanced players even weaker regions stand a chance.
Health Industries Development Initiatives A new trend in German regional development activities: Regions and initiatives - a selection
Regional initiatives as a driving force for innovation and growth of health industries Areas and subjects of activity Design of integrated health care delivery systems Transparency and (indicator based) quality Collaboration and innovation in and between hospitals Becoming more and more attractive for health tourists from abroad and other regions Encouraging and supporting business start ups in health related areas To fight upcoming labor shortages in health care jobs To make prevention work from medical wellness via advocating healthy living and working conditions to individualized medicine Internationalization: Exchange of experiences, cooperation in qualification and skill development, export of know-how, medical products and technology Devolopment of telemedicine, including telehealth-monitoring, teletreatment and innovative measures to empower prevention and self- help in the householdh
MedEcon Ruhr: Blue-print of a regional health initiative HEALTH METROPOLIS RUHR Marketplace for innovation and investment
The Ruhr: Some basic characteristics located in the center of Europe one of Europe s largest agglomerations persisting unemployment above average numbers of migrants above average numbers of old people below average health status High and stable incomes, at least by international standard
HEALTH METROPOLIS RUHR Marketplace for innovation and investment
Health industries at the Ruhr: Selected highlights Regional health development driven by MedEcon, one of Germany s biggest and most encompassing regional health initiatives Three universities with three medical faculties Germany s most pivotal region in clinical trials Headquater of Hochtief, the world s biggest hospital construction firm The Knappschaft : Germany s Health insurance No. 1 concerning integrated t care systems Some lighthouses in high tech and high-end medicine, e. g. 7- Tesler Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Center for Proton Radiation, Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology etc. A hospital guide, i. e. developing a kind of quality benchmarking and making it transparent to patients and consumers. ( d f l) b f First (and very succesful) german business start-up runway focussing on health businesses.
Health Metropolis Ruhr currently close to 300.000 employees 15.000 new jobs from 1999 to 2005 expected job growth of up to 35.000 until 2020 growing number of companies and turnover neighbourhood-based qualitatively demanding health supply area-wide nursing care infrastructure internationally renowned high-end medical competence broad-based knowledge infrastructure forward pushing business start-ups in life sciences internationally profiling as a prototype region for quality of life in old age Marketplace Investment location Focus: distribution (sales market / reference market) Innovation location Focus: health services (networking / quality / research)
Investment location Focus: distribution Marketplace Innovation location Focus: health services (sales market / reference market) (networking / quality / research) MedEcon Ruhr e.v. a development initiative for regional health industries and its aims Improvement of the population s health situation and quality of life, profiling the Ruhr as a prototype for future oriented health supply, k i h R h l i f bl d i marketing the Ruhr as top location for exportable products, services and solutions for health industries and health services.
MedEcon Ruhr, a development initiative for regional health industries and its aims Over 150 Members from different health-sectors like: Hospitals Universities and R&D-Institutions MedTech and Life Science companies Municipalities Health insurance A lot of support by the state government
MedEcon Ruhr: Some Projects in the Future-Pipeline An international hospital exhibition as both a multi-local future workshop and as demonstrator of innovative solutions. Piloting individualized and preventive medicine with respect to selected diseases (Chronical pain, cancer of the colon, dementia). Developing a Health Campus as a leading location for health related R&D (funded by the European Government) Silver Economy, i.e. developing and marketing products and services for the 60plus generation and thus to empower it for an independent living at home. To go for Internationalization: MedEcon as a platform for exchange of knowledge and experiences as well as a runway for international trade and collaboration in health products and services.
To come to an end and to sum up: The charm of regional investments in health is, that it combines social rights, duties and reponsibilities with the dynamics of a self-sustaining branch of industry. Health expenses are no sunk costs for the regions, they rather have multiplying and activating economic functions. Health is a driving force of technology, private consumption, export and thus a job machine. The Ruhr is one of the most active and most ambitious european regions to pilot this new approach to health and economy. To learn and profit from internationalization the Ruhr and MedEcon are very interested in developing an international partnership to comparabel US-regions.
Thank you very much for your attention! Any questions, critics, remarks?