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26/01/2021

Professional expertise, industry expertise, business consulting and IT solutions: “We understand the overall system of the healthcare market,” says msg’s member of the executive board Rolf Kranz. With the establishment of the Healthcare division on January 1, 2021, msg is seeking to establish itself as a central service provider in the healthcare ecosystem. In this interview, Rolf Kranz and division lead Carsten Michels explain why msg is the partner of choice.

Mr Kranz, Mr Michels, what is the motivation behind this new division?

Carsten Michels: We have been advising and supporting customers from the healthcare sector for several years now and can count more than 70 statutory health insurers among our customers. Now we want to expand our existing business to the entire healthcare industry sector.

Rolf Kranz: We want to respond to the key changes in the healthcare sector, which is the largest market in Germany. Digitalization has picked up pace here and will shape the industry. The previously sharp sector boundaries between the individual market participants are disappearing and they are being forced to collaborate. msg wants to address this market holistically, develop innovative business models and actively shape the change.

What potentials have you identified?

Rolf Kranz: Healthcare is part of our holistic insurance strategy (BIGS25). Our overarching goal is to be an orchestrator in the healthcare ecosystem and also a leading and effective IT partner. On this basis, we will further develop our market strategy for the healthcare industry.

Carsten Michels: We are very clearly seeing the advance of digitalization. This means that the digital care path is becoming increasingly integrative - between health insurers, physicians, service providers, hospitals, but also all patients, both the insured and relatives, when you consider care. This is challenging because it’s not just about the care and digitization of the enterprise as such, but also this digital care path. The discussions around this started last year. You could see this in relation to corona. You had data that didn’t match. Everyone over the age of 60 was getting FFP2 masks at the pharmacy – but with no central administration. The result: I could have gone from pharmacy to pharmacy and stock up on masks. There is no way round overhauling the processes here. This will increasingly grow together and will open up a great number of possibilities. Because: We can network.

left: Carsten Michels, Divisional Head Healthcare / right: Rolf Kranz, Member of Board, msg systems ag

Who is your target group?

Rolf Kranz: As mentioned, we are already very active in the statutory health insurance (SHI) environment. However, the market encompasses the entire healthcare ecosystem and that’s where we want to operate. /p>

Carsten Michels: More specifically: payers, service providers (hospitals, physicians, pharmacies etc.), associations and chambers are the main segments.

Where in the healthcare sector is there the greatest need to catch up in terms of digitization?

Rolf Kranz: In the networking area for sure. With the telematics infrastructure (TI), gematik is laying the foundation stone, so to speak, for a governmental information highway for the healthcare sector. We also see the greatest need to catch up in the area of digitalization, specifically in the digital exchange of data between clients in the healthcare ecosystem.

Carsten Michels: Exactly. The focus is on overarching communication in the healthcare sector between the units and thus the idea of networking.

Why msg?

Rolf Kranz: We have already established a strong position with important players in the healthcare sector - across the msg group. One example is AOK Systems as a strategic partner. Group companies such as innovas or nexinsure, for example, also have powerful software components. In short, we have the expertise. Especially when it comes to building up platform-driven ecosystems in the future.

Carsten Michels: And we are a German company geared towards the international market. Our focus is still on Germany. Accordingly, we have local knowledge, have our own social specialists with German know-how on board. But we can also contribute the advantages of internationality and consequently experience from Austria, Switzerland or even non-European countries.

What also speaks in favor of msg?

Rolf Kranz: We have just been considered for the e-prescription tender - this is THE digitalization project - and are collaborating on the creation of the electronic patient record. In the context of innovations, we are working very closely with start-ups in the industry initiative InsurLab Germany, as a way to keep our finger on the pulse.

Carsten Michels: Thanks to our long-term experience, we are now ready to step into innovative business models and develop them together with our customers. We bring an understanding for the entire network in the healthcare ecosystem. From the technical to the industry expertise and business consulting to the IT solution. And, of course, the technology we’ve been working with for 40 years. Our customers can rely on us.

What are the biggest hurdles that you need to overcome?

Rolf Kranz: The biggest hurdle is actually our competitors, because every major player in the IT environment is currently moving into the healthcare market, looking for alliances and wanting to build platforms. The catalyst here is legislative support, keywords ‘electronic patient record’ or ‘digital healthcare act’ (Digitale-Versorgung-Gesetz (DVG)). There has been a lot of movement in the market since 2015. Otherwise, it's up to us (laughs).

Carsten Michels: Another barrier is the willingness to digitalize and transparency in the healthcare sector. Digitalization also always means transparency. I might be the owner of my data, but this data can be seen by several parties and not only by the physician. That is one of the difficulties. Another issue is that from a technical perspective we have not prepared consolidation, standardized interfaces or modern systems. The technical challenge of connecting and exchanging data between the units will continue to be an issue, but one that we are ready to face.