Data
the cure of the future

As the leading private hospital operator in Germany with almost 40 years of experience, Asklepios treats over 3.5 million patients a year in its clinics, outpatient clinics and rehabilitation facilities. In digitalised form, medical data in a medical data warehouse will soon form the perfect basis for medical research, and thus for the further improvement of patient treatment and healthcare. This will enable a new understanding of disease and therapy for doctors and patients alike.

When the coronavirus became a global pandemic in 2020, nobody knew how the disease would affect the human organism. However, thanks to the scientific analysis of a lot of data, it was soon possible to identify risk factors and provide special protection for vulnerable groups.

In addition to the cooperation of many countries, this achievement was also made possible by digital structures and, in particular, a large amount of case data. “Medical data is the basis for all research. The more well-prepared data is available, the faster and more efficiently studies can be conducted on its basis and medical solutions can be developed,” says Dr Nele Geßler, Head of Asklepios proresearch.

»We use less than 1% of our research potential.«

Dr Nele Geßler, Head of
ASKLEPIOS proresearch

Health Data Hub

This is why the initiative – known as the Asklepios Health Data Hub – is one of Asklepios’ most important projects for the future. “It is far more than just a platform for medical data,” explains Henning Schneider, Chief Information Officer. “We are building a system landscape for the healthcare of tomorrow.” By both simplifying and improving the act of learning from data, the Health Data Hub is set to become the basis for research and medical treatment at Asklepios. At the same time, it will simplify processes for all involved and allow patients to view and manage their own data in the patient portal and decide who is and is not allowed to use it.

As the hospital operator has looked after and supported many patients for a many years thanks to its size and extensive experience, from outpatient clinics to hospitals and rehab, this is set to open up entirely new perspectives. “I estimate that we are currently using less than 1% percent of our research potential,” says Dr Nele Geßler. At the moment, the available data is often still laboriously typed into lists by hand by employees over a period of months in preparation for the studies. Patients’ digital files, on the other hand, can be analysed in compliance with data protection regulations within just a few hours, as their data is perfectly prepared for research: uniformly structured, clearly formulated and, above all, comparable.

How data becomes comparable

The different data is processed in compliance with data protection regulations, arranged in a uniform structure and then analysed.

“The analysis of a particularly large number of cases in compliance with data protection regulations makes the study results even more scientifically sound and precise. We are firmly convinced that we can make a valuable scientific contribution through self-initiated projects, especially in areas that are difficult to research, such as rare diseases,” Geßler says. “Analysing so much data will allow us to draw new conclusions about diseases and treatments.”

Quality management will also benefit considerably from the Health Data Hub: fast and comparable data collection enables Asklepios to achieve a uniform standard of quality in medical treatment throughout Germany – from villages to large cities.

3638

projects have been carried out since Asklepios proresearch was established.

159

indications were researched in 2023.

36008

patients have been included in clinical trials since the company was founded.

»We are building a system landscape for the healthcare of tomorrow.«

Henning Schneider, Chief Information Officer

Papers from yesterday

How do you deal with more than 30 years of expertise that is only available in paper form and was often written down in illegible handwriting?

“We are also gradually digitising this data. However, the big challenge is to prepare it so that it is useful for study purposes while also complying with data protection regulations,” explains Henning Schneider. “After all, before the introduction of the digital patient file, there were no standards for recording medical data.”

From analysis to knowledge

When analysing data, correlations or relationships can be identified from which new findings can be derived.

However, it is not only medical data that is essential for the platform, but also data protection. Health-related information is one of the special categories of personal data that is subject to particularly strict protection. It may only be collected, stored and processed in strict compliance with legal regulations. At the same time, the data should be quickly and easily accessible to those providing treatment. Asklepios solves this challenge through access rights, among other things. Only the person with the illness and the doctors treating them can view the personal data directly.

For the people

However, Dr Nele Geßler and Henning Schneider agree that, despite all the digitalisation, the focus will always be on people. “Our aim is to group all digital services around the needs of patients,” Schneider says.

Once the data-centred Health Data Hub has been set up, the platform will form the digital backbone for all Asklepios clinics and enable quality management, research, risk assessment and the digital management of medical data. “The Health Data Hub is a visionary idea,” says Dr Nele Geßler. “It will take modern healthcare to a higher level.”

Rethinking. Medicine.

ASKLEPIOS proresearch

Since its foundation in 1998, the Asklepios research division has carried out a total of 3,638 projects, 215 of which were financed by the internal research funding of Asklepios Kliniken Hamburg.

In 2023, Asklepios proresearch implemented 498 research projects. They included studies on the approval of new drugs and medical products, reviews of existing treatment recommendations, observational studies, registries and self-initiated studies.

Breakdown of studies by subject area

As at: February 2024

Haematology/oncology	38.6 %
Cardiology	22.7 %
Gastroenterology	6.2 %
Neurology	6.0 %
Urology	4.2 %
Other	22.3 %

Dr Nele Geßler

has been Head of Asklepios proresearch since 2019, Managing Director of the Institute for Clinical Research at Semmelweis University, Campus Hamburg (IKF) and Managing Director of Asklepios Science & Research. She also serves as Vice Dean for Research at the Asklepios Campus Hamburg of Semmelweis University (ACH).

Henning Schneider

took over as Head of Group Information Technology at Asklepios on 1 October 2016. His task is to drive forward digitalisation and optimise structures and clinical processes.

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Data
the cure of the future