Witten/Herdecke University showcases digital pioneers in patient care

Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) invited representatives from 25 digital pioneers in patient care in North Rhine-Westphalia to its campus in Witten for the “Achieving Healthcare Excellence Through Advanced Digitalisation (AHEAD)” study. The event offered the partners the opportunity to network, reflect jointly on insights gained from the research process and highlight their pioneering roles in digital healthcare. The AHEAD study is part of the ATLAS – Digital Health Management research project, funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and based at the Chair of Management and Innovation in Health Care.

In the AHEAD study, a research team is investigating how digitalisation can be successfully implemented in patient care. To this end, it conducted 87 qualitative interviews and supported 25 organisations in both outpatient and inpatient settings – ranging from dentistry to robotic surgery. The technologies used are equally diverse, including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, robotics, 3D printing and digital workflows. The findings are currently being prepared for publication in a scientific journal.

“Digitalisation is often cited as a solution to pressing challenges such as staff shortages and resource constraints in the health care system. However, implementing good ideas into everyday care is not a foregone conclusion. In the AHEAD study, we were able to identify the changes – beyond the technical aspects – that teams will face and how pioneers are tackling these challenges. These are important insights for anyone wishing to successfully implement digitalisation in healthcare,” says project leader Prof. Dr Sabine Bohnet-Joschko.

The network meeting on 8 July 2026 focused on the exchange between the participating pioneering organisations and the research team, as well as the joint validation of the study results. In addition, the participating organisations were honoured for their pioneering role in digital patient care. Network member Morpheus provided a special moment by delivering the tablet for the unveiling via drone.

An overview of the pioneering institutions can be found on the ATLAS website.

Information on the ATLAS project

The ATLAS project is a research project and network run by Witten/Herdecke University at the Chair of Management and Innovation in Health Care. The project was founded in 2019 and is funded by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia until 2027. The focus is on social science analyses of the impacts of digitalisation on health management and healthcare provision, access to innovative stakeholders and key projects in North Rhine-Westphalia’s digital healthcare sector, as well as the concise summarisation of current studies and the contextualisation of technical innovations for healthcare professionals.
Further information is available at: www.atlas-digitales-health-management.de.