The meeting of the G20 Health Ministers in India in August 2023 not only proved to be a forum for discussions on the promotion of digital innovations and the expansion of digital structures in healthcare, but also provided a space for exchange between the participating countries and their experts. Federal Minister of Health Prof. Karl Lauterbach was accompanied by a delegation of leading AI researchers from Germany, including Prof. Jakob N. Kather, Professor of Clinical Artificial Intelligence at the Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Digital Health at TU Dresden.

In the debates and bilateral discussions during the summit, topics such as digital health and the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare took center stage. The Minister, Prof. Kather and the other experts of the German delegation were involved in numerous exchanges about the use of AI in the medical field and the possibility of using treatment data in research.  The German Health Data Usage Act (GDNG), which is currently in the legislative process, was another focus of these discussions. This law aims to facilitate access to health data in line with data protection requirements and to reduce the associated red tape. This would allow the GDNG to promote research in the healthcare sector, improve diagnostics, treatment and therapy, all the while protecting the privacy of patients.

“The G20 Summit was a special opportunity to exchange ideas with healthcare experts from all over the world and to set the course for the digital future of healthcare. Fundamental improvements in research and the provision of healthcare are facilitated if clinically relevant data is made available in a depersonalized and anonymized form for research, specifically for training AI models,” said Prof. Kather.

One of the main announcements of the summit was the launch of the World Health Organization’s Global Initiative on Digital Health. The WHO is striving to establish a unified global strategy for digital health. The initiative aims to consolidate our findings on digital health, improve past and current achievements, as well as to promote equitable progress in healthcare.

On September 13, Prof. Kather will appear as a guest on the “You ask we explain” podcast, organized by the Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus of TU Dresden. The ninth episode revolves around the topic of artificial intelligence and its use, application and possibilities in medicine. It will be recorded live at 6:00 pm at COSMO Science Forum at Dresden’s Kulturpalast and will include questions from the audience. Please register in advance if you would like to attend.

Contact:  
Anja Stübner 
Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Digital Health
Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 351 458-11379

www.digitalhealth.tu-dresden.de