Digitization, climate change and the continuous development of cutting-edge medical care are enormous challenges for global health care, today and in future. That is why the Medical Center – University of Freiburg has been making enormous efforts to address these questions for many years. Today, it is among the leaders in the digitization of hospitals in Germany and in sustainability issues. At the same time, the innovative and intelligent translation of medical research results into patient care is a central component of the Medical Center – University of Freiburg.
With more than 15,000 employees, the Medical Center – University of Freiburg is among the largest university medical centers in Germany. Around 1.800 doctors and more than 4.300 nurses provide care to about 90.000 inpatients and 900.000 outpatients each year.
Great improvements in sustainability
"We are aware of the great responsibility that healthcare and hospitals bear as energy-intensive institutions. That is why we have been focusing on sustainable strategies for many years," says Prof. Dr. H.C. Frederik Wenz, CEO of the University of Freiburg – Medical Center, Germany. High energy efficiency improvements in the hospital's combined heat and power plant, the elimination or recycling of particularly climate-damaging anaesthetic gases, ecological construction measures such as passive cooling with Black Forest groundwater, construction using Black Forest wood whenever possible and the expansion of large photovoltaic systems contribute significantly to the conservation of resources.
“Sustainability, however, requires a rethink throughout the healthcare industry,” Wenz states. The largest share in the hospital's carbon footprint is accounted for by the purchase of services and products, especially medical products and consumables. "We have to work together with all stakeholders to find ways to minimize the impact of the health system on the climate," Wenz continues.
Among the leading hospitals in Digitization
At the same time, according to external analyses, Medical Center – University of Freiburg is one of the leading hospitals regarding digitization in Germany. This includes the comprehensive use of mobile electronic medical record (EMR), and AI supported diagnostics and therapy decisions. “Digitization will fundamentally change medicine. Already today, no patient at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg is treated without the help of AI,” Wenz says. Digitization also allows monitoring processes in real-time and giving immediate feedback. From diagnosis to follow-up, already today patients at Medical Center – University of Freiburg benefit from innovative digital solutions.
Reconciling Research and Care
Physician-scientists are a central component of the strategy of the Medical Center – University of Freiburg. They contribute to providing the patients with sophisticated and quality-assured procedures in diagnostics and therapy. “Thus, our patients directly benefit from the work of the physician-scientists,“ Wenz says. Numerous programmes at the medical faculty of the university of Freiburg support early-career professionals to reconcile research and care.
“Medical care will be improved above all by focusing more on the quality of treatment again. Top quality ultimately leads to satisfied patients, satisfied referring physicians, but also satisfied staff. Ultimately, quality medicine is also economic, because it means doing neither too much nor too little – but doing the right thing,“ Wenz says.
