From 10 to 14 November 2024, the European Leadership Network (ELNET) organized a digital health delegation trip to Israel as part of the German Israeli Health Forum for Artificial Intelligence (GIHF-AI). Participants were part of a high-ranking delegation from the German, primarily Saxon, healthcare sector and had the opportunity to get to know Israel’s innovative and highly digitalized healthcare ecosystem.
In addition to intensive exchanges with leading representatives of Israeli healthcare facilities, cooperation projects were initiated. The State Chancellery of Saxony supported the trip to promote networking between Israel and the Free State of Saxony in the healthcare field. This publication summarizes the program of the trip and provides political recommendations for action, which were developed by the participants (Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Holzgreve, Prof. Dr. Toralf Kirsten, Mina Luetkens, Prof. Dr. Irit Nachtigall, Prof. Dr. Martin Sedlmayr) together with ELNET following the trip.
Overall, the Israeli healthcare system shows how a strategic combination of an integrated structure, digital innovation, and social acceptance can enable sustainable progress in healthcare. The successful integration of AI into patient care requires a combination of education, infrastructure, regulatory adjustments, and social change. These measures lay the foundation for a data-driven, patient-centered, and future-proof healthcare system. The intensive exchange of knowledge and innovations with Israel can therefore lead to the development of new projects, technologies, and partnerships that benefit both Germany and Israel. In this context, Saxony’s healthcare landscape could also benefit from cooperation with Israel.
