Updates concerning Sciana Fellows in September 2025
New role for Andreas Welker
Congratulations to Andreas Welker (Cohort 7), who, as of 1 October, will be working at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, and Integration of Baden-Württemberg.
Based in Stuttgart, he'll be head of the department for "Health Protection, Infection Control, and Epidemiology". He'll be moving on from his current role, head of the Health Department for the Rhine-Neckar District.
Karin Strube reflects on Big Bang KI Festival
In a LinkedIn post, Karin Strube (Cohort 6) reflected on some takeaways she took from this year's Big Bang KI Festival, including the notion that AI in healthcare is not optional.
She also comments on an inspiring (yet also frightening) lecture by Sciana Advisor Heyo Kroemer on the hurdles that need to be overcome for AI to make a big difference.
Futures Lounge #46: ZUKUNFT GESUNDHEIT – Auf dem Weg zu einem menschenzentrierten Gesundheitssystem (Futures Lounge #46: FUTURE HEALTH – Towards a people-centred healthcare system)
Lutz Hager (Cohort 2) appeared on a recent instalment of "Futures Lounge" to discuss how we can create a health system in the coming years that puts people at the centre.
He's joined by Mark Dominik Alscher, CEO of the Bosch Health Campus and medical director of the Robert Bosch Hospital. The conversation is moderated by Melanie Feldman, board member at Hashtag Gesundheit e.V. and Philipp Köbe, project manager at ScMI AG.
Place-based innovation and its role in improving health
In a blog for the Health Innovation Network, Dominique Allwood (Cohort 6) suggests we must take innovation into the lives of people and communities if we are serious about improving the nation's health. This means designing and delivering local change in places where people live, work, and receive care.
Sven Streit leading Swiss Society of General Internal Medicine's Papertiger Project
In Switzerland, primary care physicians are spending an increasing amount of time on administrative tasks – from repeated insurance requests to incompatible digital systems – often with little or no benefit to patients. To make this hidden burden visible and to push for change, the Swiss Society of General Internal Medicine (SGAIM) has launched the “Papiertiger” project.
Led by Sven Streit (Cohort 5), the campaign begins with a nationwide survey asking physicians to identify the most unnecessary bureaucratic tasks in their daily practice. The collected insights will be used to engage policymakers, insurers, and regulators in reducing avoidable paperwork, freeing up time for what matters most: patient care.
Interested in learning more or sharing the survey with your networks? The questionnaire is available in German, French and Italian.
Raquel Correia moderates session at ICHOM 2025
On 30 September, Raquel Correia (Cohort 7) was scheduled to moderate a session at ICHOM 2025 titled "Getting the Most From Using PROMs." The session was designed to explore how patient-reported outcomes can be meaningfully integrated into care delivery and system improvement.
But what is ICHOM? Raquel recently produced a video breaking down what ICHOM really is (beyond the acronyms) and why people who care about value-based healthcare make it a priority. Watch this video below. It's also available on LinkedIn.
On 22 October, Raquel will also deliver a one-hour session at the IAMSE 2025 Virtual Forum. Focusing on “AI and Technology in Health Education”, she will be looking at the opportunities and limits of AI in enhancing learning, administrative efficiency, and clinical decision-making while addressing ethics, academic integrity, and data privacy.
Driving health and wealth: Health Innovation Network 2024-25 Impact Report
The Health Innovation Network reports that in 2024/25, it delivered national programmes benefiting one million patients, leveraging almost £500m through its support to innovators, and creating or safeguarding over 900 jobs in the UK.
In an article announcing the report, Richard Stubbs, chair of the Health Innovation Network and Sciana Fellow (Cohort 5), said, "This year’s report is yet another example of the value of health innovation, the impact the implementation of health innovation has on patients, the NHS workforce and the economy [...]"
Meanwhile, in the same article, Vin Diwakar, national clinical transformation director for NHS England and Sciana Fellow (Cohort 2), said, "Innovation remains central to transforming the NHS, ensuring a health service fit for the future, aligned with the government’s 10 Year Health Plan.
“The health innovation networks play a pivotal role supporting innovators and the NHS to develop, spread and adopt innovation, which is why the government has committed further investment in the 15 networks across England in the Life Sciences Sector Plan. [...]"
Unleashing the power of communities: why neighbourhood health must be neighbourhood-led not just neighbourhood-based
In an article for The King's Fund, Minal Bakhai (Cohort 7) co-authored a piece exploring what will be required to enact a further shift to neighbourhood-led healthcare, highlighting examples in the UK where this has already occurred.
In September, the UK government announced the rollout of new neighbourhood health services in 43 places, backed by £10 million. Minal, director for primary care and community transformation and the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme at NHS England, reflected on the announcement on LinkedIn.
The people behind healthcare innovation: Interview with Luan Vo, President of Friends for International Tuberculosis Relief (FIT)
In the latest instalment of "The people behind healthcare innovation series," Tobias Silberzahn (Cohort 3) speaks with Luan Vo about his journey and ambition to end tuberculosis during our lifetime.
Asking questions, building trust, and bringing stakeholders together in an authentic way
In an interview with the Sciana Network, Sarah Holloway (Cohort 6) reflects on leadership, her experience working within mental health across sectors, and her working group’s focus on prevention and health promotion.
Erklärfilme zur Förderung der gesundheitlichen Chancengleichheit (Explanatory films on the promotion of equal opportunities in health)
Carlo Fabian (Cohort 7) has featured in a video showing why it's worthwhile to design programmes for promoting health and health equity in a participatory way. In addition, the video discusses what needs to be considered when programmes are implemented.
This is one of five videos produced by specialists from the Soziale Arbeit FHNW in collaboration with HETSL/HES-SO and Unisanté.
Sciana connections in new UK National Commission on the Regulation of AI in Healthcare
A new UK national commission will help accelerate safe access to AI in healthcare and across the NHS.
The UK National Commission on the Regulation of AI in Healthcare has been tasked with advising the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on how to revise the regulatory rulebook on AI in healthcare, which is expected to be published in 2026.
Lawrence Tallon, chief executive of the MHRA and Sciana Fellow (Cohort 5), said, “We want regulation of AI in healthcare to move at the pace of innovation. AI has enormous potential to transform patient outcomes, improving quality, access and equity of care while driving efficiency.
“It is crucial that AI regulation maintains patient safety and public confidence. By bringing together leading voices in healthcare, technology, and patient safety, this Commission will help establish the UK as a global leader in responsible AI healthcare regulation.
“The MHRA will act on the recommendations of the Commission to support the NHS’s digital transformation and advance the UK’s ambition to become a global hub for health tech investment.”
The Commission will be assisted by experts from big tech companies, such as Google and Microsoft, as well as leading clinicians, researchers, and patient advocates. Members of the Commission with a connection to the Sciana Network include:
- Jennifer Dixon, chief executive of the Health Foundation
- Ricardo Baptista Leite, CEO, HealthAI - The Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health, and former Sciana speaker
- Richard Stubbs, chief executive of Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber and Sciana Fellow (Cohort 5)
Saskia Maria De Gani contributes to National Health Report 2025
Mental health has become an increasingly important topic in Switzerland yet knowledge and skills in this area remain uneven across the population. Recent findings point to differences by gender, personal experience, and professional role, with notable gaps in both competence and research.
These and other insights are presented in the newly published National Health Report 2025. Saskia Maria De Gani, Head of Careum’s Center for Health Literacy and Sciana Fellow alumna (Cohort 5), together with Dominik Robin, contributed a chapter on mental health literacy. Their analysis also highlights that Switzerland still lacks representative studies and robust data on this topic.
To address this, the Health Literacy Survey 2025–2027, conducted by Careum’s Center for Health Literacy on behalf of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and in collaboration with gfs.bern, will for the first time generate representative and internationally comparable data on the Swiss adult population.
The report, published by the Swiss Health Observatory (Obsan), provides a broad view of mental health in Switzerland, combining research findings, thematic analyses, and an overall discussion that points to future directions.
