About us
More than any other industry, the medical technology and diagnostics sector thrives on partnership-based cooperation between suppliers, manufacturers and users. The interdependence of all players involved is particularly high in medical technology and diagnostics. One example of this is the cooperation between suppliers and manufacturers. While in other industries, the choice is sometimes made solely on the basis of price, in medical technology and diagnostics, the great responsibility towards the patient always hovers above everything else. The mutual trust that companies place in each other is of corresponding importance. This is also particularly important from a regulatory perspective. Spontaneously changing a supplier, as is sometimes the case in other sectors, is difficult.
A look at the healthcare sector in Germany and Europe as a whole shows this: The shortage of skilled workers in particular is putting a strain on the industry and studies show that the situation will continue to worsen. For example, a study by management consultants PWC Germany assumes that almost 1.8 million vacancies in the healthcare sector will no longer be filled in 2035 due to a lack of qualified staff. According to the Federal Statistical Office, up to 690,000 nursing staff are expected to be lacking in Germany by 2049 due to the ageing of the population. These figures are alarming and demonstrate the acute need for action in the German healthcare sector - the same applies to many other European countries.
A stronger focus on the automation of healthcare facilities could provide a remedy. The solutions for this are offered and developed by the mechanical and plant engineering sector. Technical solutions are available ranging from automated processes in pharmacies to the complete supply of medication in hospitals and the use of service robots. People in care facilities can also be guaranteed better care with the help of mechanical engineering. The aim is to improve the patient experience, relieve the burden on staff, make care management more efficient and increase the attractiveness of jobs in the healthcare sector.
Our focus at the VDMA has so far been purely on medical technology, in particular on production technology for medical technology. With the HealthTech working group, we are now looking at the entire industrial healthcare sector. We are continuing our work in the field of medical technology, but we also support our members in laboratory technology / diagnostics - in relation to medical laboratories - and in the field of automation in the healthcare sector.
We see ourselves as a network for the entire supplier industry, i.e. our members are machine and plant manufacturers as well as companies along the entire value chain.