The Institute for Management, Economics and Care in the Healthcare Sector of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU) organized a health economics symposium and networking event on November 14, 2025 on the topic of "Future of Care - Work on Progress". The organizers were delighted with the successful conference and the many practical insights into the future of care.
On November 14, 2025, the Health Economics Talks on the topic of "The Future of Nursing - Work on Progress" took place at the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society. As has been the case many times since the start of the conference series in 2003, this year's event once again provided a platform for a fruitful exchange between academia and practice. From the participants' point of view, it was particularly valuable to learn about implementation-oriented concepts for strategically relevant fields of action in addition to well-founded health policy analyses.
After the welcome address by University President Prof. Dr. Gunther Piller, in which he emphasized the importance of health economics for the profile of the university, the Minister of State of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Transformation and Digitization Rhineland-Palatinate, Dörte Schall, gave a welcoming address. She outlined the major challenges facing the care sector and explained the state's positions and activities. She also emphasized the importance of dialogue: "I am very excited to see what impetus we can take away today on the topics of health, care and, above all, the further development of the sector."
Practically relevant findings for healthcare experts
Grit Braeseke (IGES Institute) kicked off the event with a presentation on financing and care within the framework of social long-term care insurance. Claudia Brockers from Caritasverband Westerwald-Rhein-Lahn and Dirk Wieser from AOK Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland, who jointly presented new approaches to outpatient care in the "Pflege ganz aktiv" model, set further focal points. Kaspar Pfister from the BeneVit Group spoke about the "Future of outpatient care for the elderly". Carolin Holwitt from #Gesundheit presented the position of the younger generation, particularly with regard to the future financing of nursing care.
In the afternoon, the focus shifted to interdisciplinary topics in care. Felix Biessmann (bht Berlin) presented the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence in nursing, before Prof. Dr. Joachim von der Heide (HWG LU) explained the concept of the Advanced Practice Nurse.
Over 100 managers and specialists from care facilities, hospitals, health insurance companies, the private practice sector and other parts of the healthcare industry benefited from a broad spectrum of these forward-looking topics. Bianca Pfeuffer, member of the Board of Directors of Diakonissen Speyer, summed up the importance of the exchange for practice: "Such events offer a valuable opportunity to take away suggestions that show the areas in which companies can drive forward their further development in a targeted manner."
The event made it clear that the care sector is undergoing change and needs innovative approaches to ensure that it remains sustainable in the future
Networking and exchange
The conference offered numerous opportunities for exchanging experiences and networking. During the panel discussion and in the breaks, participants were able to talk to each other and to the speakers.
The conference directors, Prof. Dr. Eveline Häusler and Prof. Dr. Elke Raum, see the concept of the Health Economics Talks confirmed: "Our mission is to provide professional impetus for sustainable, efficient healthcare and to offer an active network for cooperation partners in health economics at Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences and beyond. We attach particular importance to involving students - the specialists and managers of the future. It was therefore particularly important that, in addition to health economics students, students from the fields of nursing and midwifery also took part and contributed to the discussion."
The next Health Economics Talks are planned for October 2026.
Further information can be found at: www.hwg-lu.de/studium/bachelor/gip/gesundheitsoekonomische-gespraeche
Specialist contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society
Institute for Management, Economics and Healthcare
Prof. Dr. Eveline Häusler/Prof. Dr. Elke Raum
Tel. 0621 5203 - 135 or -126
Email: eveline.haeusler@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de / elke.raum@hwg-lu.de
