Get acquainted with the Head of Open Innovation at DKV Innolab - #BHHMembersInitiatives

DKV has been a BHH member since the beginning of the Hub. They are a health insurer and a provider of health, wellness and digital health services, with a strong focus on the digitalization of health services, health promotion, disease prevention and chronic disease management programs. Their DKV Innolab is located at the BHH Headquarters and its aim is to contribute to the improving of the healthcare system's sustainability under the conceptual framework of Smart Positive Health.

Barcelona Health Hub met with Sílvia Vinyes, Head of Open Innovation at DKV Innolab to talk about the company's latest news and their participation on 4YFN.

Sílvia, can you please introduce yourself and tell us about DKV? Thank you for inviting us. I am Sílvia Vinyes, I am a Biomedical Engineer and I’ve been dedicated to digital health innovation for the last 8 years. Currently, I am leading the Open Innovation division at DKV Innolab.

In this role, I am responsible for defining and managing the framework for open innovation operations in line with the strategic health innovation roadmap of the company. I would like to emphasize DKV's strong commitment to innovation and digitalization in healthcare, which was exemplified by the establishment of DKV Innolab in the BHH premises in 2020 and is further demonstrated by our repeated participation in this event.

At DKV Innolab, we gather insights and analyze technological and market trends, drive strategic R&D digital health projects, and operate a specific unit for open innovation, with support programs for innovators and strategic adoption frameworks. Can you elaborate about what’s new at DKV these days? Since 2020, DKV has already an established position in telemedicine services and is continuously expanding its offerings with new specialized services and pathways, as well as increasing its pool of remote healthcare providers. Quiero cuidarme más, the digital health platform for our policyholders, is also in constant evolution.

It now features additional preventive plans and challenges, aimed at enabling people to achieve their optimal health states. In the last two years, DKV Innolab has also proven its value and has become a well-established unit that actively engages in healthcare innovation by collaborating with relevant stakeholders in the field. Having already established such successful operations in digital health, DKV Innolab is currently dedicated to addressing specific healthcare challenges by introducing new technologies, either through research and development or by partnering with startups that have proven products.

DKV places significant emphasis on disease prevention and on early diagnosis. In line with that, our team has given priority to commonly recognized issues such as mental health, chronic diseases, and smart ageing, along with long wait times and the general overburdening of the healthcare system.

You participated in the #BHHPanel about “Digital Health Trends in Insurance” at 4YFN. Can you tell us what was your key message at the panel? Our main point was that, at DKV, we truly believe technology has a key role in supporting healthcare actors tackling relevant healthcare challenges and providing new sustainable models of healthcare provision.

Thus, during the panel we had the opportunity to share how DKV Innolab works in close collaboration with market disruptors, and how we are using technology to tackle those challenges and how we’ve proven, for some use cases, that collaborating with solutions from the market brings positive results, for example with BHH member DyCare.

We also shared our first fully digital health insurance, the Personal Doctor, which centralizes care through a customer-chosen primary care physician.

It was great to see you return to the digital health area of Barcelona Health Hub after being present at the BHH Stand in previous years. Can you explain the reasons behind your decision to join again and share your experience at this year's 4YFN? Additionally, how did the BHH stand benefit DKV? We were delighted to be invited once again by BHH to join them at the 4YFN BHH stand. Last year we were shown that our attendance at MWC and 4YFN gives us a unique opportunity to engage with key players in healthcare innovation and learn from the latest trends, technologies, and innovations in the digital health space.

This year's 4YFN was an even more incredible experience, with so much activity and attendees that it was hard to process it all. It was great to explore the most recent healthcare trends and advancements in technology stemming from the latest research and development and learn from the experiences of other stakeholders. The stand at BHH gave us an amazing opportunity to showcase the DKV Innolab and our innovation activity and services to a wide range of potential customers, partners, or adoptions. We found the tours organized by BHH which visited the different stands key to create meaningful connections with relevant stakeholders in the health sector.

Overall, 4YFN met our expectations and we definitely plan on returning next year. It's a pleasure to hear about your experience. Thank you so much! Discover who else came to the BHH Stand HERE.