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Medicine and healthcare system
Medicine is the only subject for which the Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat, WR) issues separate and regular recommendations and statements on all issues relating to teaching, research and patient care. These deal with all facets of university medicine and also take into account legal and structural issues in this field. Beyond university medicine, the Science and Humanities Council is increasingly addressing issues at the interface between science and the healthcare systems.
The WR issued recommendations on the further development of medicine in 2025, 2021 and 2016. Its ‘Recommendations on the Professional Development of Medicine’ (2025, German version only) focus on the development of preclinical and clinical-theoretical subjects. In its further recommendations, the WR addressed the role of university medicine as an actor between the science and health systems. More...
In its ‘Perspectives for the further development of healthcare professions’ (2023, in German only) and, previously, in its ‘Recommendations on higher education qualifications for the healthcare system’ (2012), the WR has advocated for increased higher education qualifications in healthcare professions, in order to respond in an appropriate way to changed healthcare needs. More...
Previously, the Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat, WR) adopted a ‘Position Paper on Digitisation and Data Use for Health Research and Care’ (2022, German version only). In its view, a digitised health system not only promises to make life easier for healthcare professionals and patients, but is also an essential prerequisite for data-intensive health research, which in turn can bring citizens completely new and high-quality care options.
Other topics in the recent past have included medical studies and non-university research. For example, the further development of the German Centres for Health Research (2017) was discussed.
In addition, the WR regularly comments on the further development of university medicine in individual federal states from a cross-location perspective.
The Science and Humanities Council has also organised a symposium on prevention (2024, Report in German only) as a relevant field at the interface between science and the health system.