In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Health is being reorganised to include a new Federal Institute for Prevention and Education in Medicine (BIPAM) to prevent non-communicable diseases such as cancer, dementia and cardiovascular diseases. This body will have the current Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) merged within it. Additionally, the Rober Koch Institute will be strengthened by concentrating on the prevention of infectious diseases.
Dr. Johannes Nießen, establishment representative of the Federal Institute for Prevention and Education in Medicine (BIPAM) said “Germany’s health care is excellent, but we have some catching up to do when it comes to preventing illnesses. That’s why it’s good that we are improving prevention, health literacy, public health services, research and communication on non-communicable diseases by establishing a new federal institute. In addition, the public health service needs a central contact and source of ideas at the federal level. If the federal institute can fulfil this task, a lot has already been achieved.”
The legislative process is scheduled to start in 2023, the transformation will begin in 2024 and the law is expected to come into force to support this reform in 2025. And will aim to reframe health care to look also at preventative measures.
The key tasks the new BIPAM are expected to take on are:
- Evaluation and collection of data on the health status of the population in order to prepare political and strategic decisions and evaluate target group-specific prevention measures.
- Federal health communication based on valid data on health conditions, health status and health behaviour of the population.
- Comprehensive networking of the public health service.
- Networking between science, practice, politics and relevant stakeholders.
- Early identification of health needs and requirements (foresight) as well as detection, prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
- Epidemiological research in the field of non-communicable diseases, including the identification and assessment of individual risks and social determinants of health.
- Supporting studies to improve primary prevention and collaborating with the research data centre in the use of AI for epidemiological evaluations
- Building a Centre of Excellence for Healthcare Modelers