The project “ReGeN – Evaluating and Developing Regional Health Networks and Regions” will launch a nationwide research initiative in early 2026 to improve medical care in Germany. Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Leonie Sundmacher, holder of the Associate Professorship of Health Economics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the consortium will examine how well cooperation in the German healthcare system already works and in which areas there is room for improvement. The project will be funded by the Innovation Fund of the Joint Federal Committee with approximately 1.8 million euros over three years starting in January 2026.
The German healthcare system is characterized by a high degree of freedom of choice. Insured persons can visit doctors in the outpatient sector with a high degree of flexibility. However, this freedom of choice also presents challenges. If general practitioners, specialists, hospitals, and care facilities do not communicate sufficiently with each other, so-called gaps in care can arise. This is exactly where healthcare networks and regions come in. They connect local service providers in order to coordinate treatments more effectively and strengthen the continuity of care.
“Networked care is key to the future of our healthcare system. When structures are well coordinated, this directly benefits patients in the form of fewer gaps in treatment and higher quality of care,” emphasizes Prof. Sundmacher.
However, there is currently little reliable evidence as to whether and to what extent healthcare networks actually offer an advantage over standard care. This is precisely where the “ReGeN” research project comes in, providing the first comprehensive analysis of how cooperation in healthcare networks works, what factors determine their success, and how well they perform in comparison to standard care. "Our goal is to significantly improve regional care in Germany. Healthcare networks and regions are a promising approach to achieving this, but so far there is a lack of reliable data to measure their actual benefits," explains Philipp Naß, Research Associate at the Associate Professorship of Health Economics. Naß forms the project team together with Dr. Wiebke Schüttig, Academic Advisor, and Philipp Bammert, Research Associate.
The research includes both qualitative and quantitative analyses in the regions of Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Schleswig-Holstein. Initially, written surveys and oral interviews will be conducted throughout Germany with representatives of existing health networks and regions in order to obtain an up-to-date picture of the different structures and working methods. Based on this, the project team will develop a set of core indicators that can be used nationwide to enable health networks to be evaluated in terms of quality, continuity, and coordination. Subsequently, it will be examined whether insured persons who are treated in health networks have measurable advantages over patients in standard care. In order to gain a complete picture of the reality of care provision, an analysis will also be carried out to determine which doctors and other service providers in the regions already work together informally and where there is potential for new collaborations.
“We want to better understand how well cooperation in healthcare networks works and what contribution it makes to the quality of care and continuity of treatment. Only if we can prove this empirically will it be possible to further develop successful models in a targeted manner,” says Philipp Naß.
The findings will make it possible to identify successful concepts for regional networking and assess their transferability to other regions. A key added value is that it provides those responsible for outpatient care – in particular, associations of statutory health insurance physicians and health insurance companies – with a scientifically sound tool that they can use to evaluate and promote network structures in a targeted manner in the future. “With ReGeN, we are creating the scientific basis for the first time to evaluate regional networking in a uniform manner. This helps to strengthen successful models – and to target areas where patients still experience gaps in care today,” says Prof. Sundmacher.
In addition to TUM, the consortium includes the associations of statutory health insurance physicians in Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Westphalia-Lippe, and Schleswig-Holstein, as well as AOK Bavaria, AOK Rhineland/Hamburg, AOK Northwest, and Barmer. The joint work of the partners is intended to ensure that the perspectives of the various stakeholder groups are taken into account and that the results can be incorporated into the further development of care in a practical manner.
To the project website of the Innovation Fund of the Joint Federal Committee
To the homepage of the Associate Professorship of Health Economics
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Leonie Sundmacher
Associate Professorship of Health Economics
Am Olympiacampus 11
80809 München
phone: 089 289 24464
e-mail: leonie.sundmacher(at)tum.de
Philipp Naß
Associate Professorship of Health Economics
Am Olympiacampus 11
80809 München
phone: 089 289 24487
e-mail: philipp.nass(at)tum.de