The Covid-19 epidemic has exposed the issue of a non-systematic approach to digitization in the health systems worldwide, including Slovenia. If we aim for a high-quality, fast-responsive, and sustainable healthcare system, a key solution becomes evident: systematic digitization involving the unification of data recording and their high-quality processing. This was emphasized by prominent foreign and domestic experts during the 10th strategic conference 'The Value of Innovation,' held under the theme 'Digital Transformation for Informed Decision-Making in Healthcare.
Jurij Stariha, MSc, President of Forum of International Research and Development Pharmaceutical Companies Board
Janez Poklukar, minister of health
Nathalie Moll, BSc, Director General of European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA)
Michael Strübin, Director of Digital Health at MedTech Europe
prof. Dipak Kalra, PhD, President at The European Institute for Innovation through Health Data
Minna Hendolin, PhD, Leading Specialist in Sitra’s Health Data 2030 project
Bogdan Tušar, Acting Director General of the Directorate for Health System Development at the Ministry of Health
Metka Zaletel, Head of Health Data Centre at National Institute of Public Health Slovenia
Anka Bolka, Head of Directorate of Field for Development and Analysis at Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia
prof. Roman Jerala, PhD, Head of the Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana and a full professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Ljubljana
prof. Borut Štrukelj, PhD, Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Biology at the Faculty of Pharmacy University of Ljubljana
Izidor Mlakar, PhD, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor and Maribor University Medical Centre
Christian Theil Lundgaard, MSc, Head of Global Digital Health partnership at Novo Nordisk
Jean-Louis Koeck, founder of MesVaccins.net platform
Gregor Cuzak, MSc, MBA, Co-creator and co-organiser of HealthDay.si
Maja Južnič Sotlar, Vice president of EuropaColon Slovenia
Barbara Stegel, MSc, Secretary general at Forum of International Research and Development Pharmaceutical Companies
Prof. Roman Jerala, PHd is head of the Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana. Since 2010 he has been a full professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Ljubljana.
Director General, EFPIA
Bogdan Tušar, a law graduate, began his career at the Office for Money Laundering at the Ministry of Finance.
Barbara Stegel, MSc, has several years of experience in management and marketing.
Anka Bolka has many years of experience in the field of health insurance.
Prof. dr. Borut Štrukelj is a professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ljubljana. In 1980 he enrolled at the FNT-Department of Pharmacy of the University of Ljubljana, where he completed his studies with an excellent grade and continued his doctoral studies.
Izidor Mlakar, PhD, received his PhD degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maribor in Slovenia.
Gregor Cuzak, MSc, MBA, has been the co-creator and co-organiser of HealthDay.si, the Slovenian eHealth ecosystem.
Professor Dipak Kalra, PhD, is President of The European Institute for Innovation through Health Data (i~HD).
Michael Strübin is Director Digital Health at MedTech Europe, the European trade association for the medical technology industry including diagnostics, medical devices and digital health.
Minna Hendolin, PhD, has several years management and leadership experience both in private and public organization resulting in a wide knowledge in health sector business ecosystems, innovation and financing.
Metka Zaletel is a mathematician with additional education and a master's degree in the United Kingdom on the topic of social data analysis.
Maja Južnič Sotlar is a graduate English scholar and a journalist who has been working in the field of healthcare communications for more than 20 years.
Jurij Stariha, MSc, joined Novo Nordisk Slovenia in 2016 as MA&PA manager for Slovenian region.
Christian Theil Lundgaard, MSc, is a Head of Global Digital Health partnership at Novo Nordisk.
Prof. Roman Jerala, PHd is head of the Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana. Since 2010 he has been a full professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Ljubljana. He is also a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
He is the recipient of numerous scientific awards and the recipient of the ERC (European Research Council) project for well-established and outstanding scientists. His research areas include synthetic biology, biological engineering, bionanomaterials, genetic editing and the molecular mechanism of natural immunity.
Prof. Jerala is a pioneer of synthetic biology in Slovenia and one of the leading synthetic biologists in Europe and the world. Internationally, his group is among the top scientific groups with resounding results published in the most prestigious scientific publications in the world. His bibliography includes more than 200 articles in internationally peer-reviewed journals, including 12 publications in Nature family journals.
Prof. Jerala is also one of the most active promoters of science in Slovenia, often presenting scientific research results and technologies to the general public.
Nathalie Moll joined the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) as Director General in April 2017.
EFPIA represents the pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. Together with its direct membership 40 leading pharmaceutical companies, 33 national associations representing over 1,900 companies and in collaboration with health and research players, , EFPIA's mission is to create an environment that enables our members to innovate, discover, develop and deliver new therapies and vaccines for people across Europe, as well as contribute to the European economy.
Prior to joining EFPIA, between 2010 and 2017 Nathalie was the Secretary General of EuropaBio ranked as the most effective European Trade Association in Brussels in 2013. She spent over 20 years working for the biotech industry at EU and national level in associations and corporate positions and held the position of Chair and Vice Chair of the International Council of Biotech Associations (ICBA).
In 2013, Nathalie won the Technovisionaries Women Innovation Award organised by Women & Technologies® while in 2009, Nathalie and the Green Biotech Team of EuropaBio were presented with the Leadership and Excellence in Advancing Ag-Biotech and Food Issues Award. Nathalie was also named one of the 15 leading women in biotech in Europe in 2017 and recognised as one of the "20 Women Who Shape Brussels" by POLITICO Europe in 2020.
Nathalie holds an Honours Degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from St Andrews University, Scotland.
Bogdan Tušar, a law graduate, began his career at the Office for Money Laundering at the Ministry of Finance. As a consultant, he was responsible for drafting amendments to legal regulations directly or indirectly related to the prevention and detection of money laundering and terrorist financing, preparation of expert legal opinions and positions regarding the implementation of these regulations and by-laws.
In 2007 he became assistant director of the Idrija Psychiatric Hospital, and in 2012 he became director of the hospital. As a director, he organized and managed the work and operations of the hospital with 215 employees, and was also responsible for the legality of the hospital's operations. After ten years as director, he was appointed to the position of acting director of the Directorate for Health System Development at the Ministry of Health.
Here, he is responsible for the preparation and implementation of comprehensive systemic legislative changes in the field of financing, organization and effective management, as well as the provision of health care and long-term care. According to him, the field of efficiency, accessibility, quality and safety and digitalization of health care are the most important areas of development of the health care system in Slovenia.
In 2015, Tušar obtained the Qualified Leader certificate, which he received on the basis of a 53-hour intensive course of practical skills for managers (GV Academy of Management, Ljubljana).
He also obtained a certificate upon successful completion of a postgraduate professional development in health management: Health care leadership program organized by the International Institute for Health Care Management Development. He is a member of the Association of Directors of Hospitals of Slovenia and vice-president of the Committee of Psychiatric Hospitals at the Association of Health Institutions of Slovenia.
Barbara Stegel, MSc, has several years of experience in management and marketing. At the beginning of her career, she collaborated with major Slovenian companies, where she worked as the head of marketing departments, consultant and director of corporate communication and human resources. Between 2010 and 2011, she advised to Minister and professional associates at the Slovenian Ministry of Health on the healthcare reform. The following year, she took over the position of Secretary General of the Forum of International Research and Development Pharmaceutical Companies, EIG, where she is still employed. Under her leadership, she coordinates the work and manages the projects of Forum, communicates with the stakeholders of the national health system and with the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) on all essential topics in the healthcare system. In 2016, she took over the coordination of the National Medicines Verification Organization – Zavod ZAPAZ, in which she still actively participates.
Anka Bolka has many years of experience in the field of health insurance. As a member of the project group or as a project team leader, she has participated in the most important development projects of the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia. In the last twenty years, she has been involved in project for the introduction and upgrades of the health insurance card system and the establishment of electronic exchange of data on services provided between Health Care Providers and The Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia. In addition, she has also previous experience of participating in interinstitutional national and European projects.
Since 2017, she has been leading the field of analytics and development at The Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia. The key responsibilities of the field are annual and strategic planning, development of service payment models and business analytics. During that time, an ambitious medium-term strategic plan of the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia until 2025 was prepared, assuming introduction of new models of payment for healthcare services, execution of a national cost analysis of acute hospital treatment services paid according to the SPP model for the first time in Slovenia and upgrade of data warehouse which represents a rich analytics for national needs.
Prof. dr. Borut Štrukelj is a professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ljubljana. In 1980 he enrolled at the FNT-Department of Pharmacy of the University of Ljubljana, where he completed his studies with an excellent grade and continued his doctoral studies. He completed his postdoctoral studies in the Netherlands, at the Institute of Plant Molecular Biology (CPRO-DLO, PRI Wageningen). He is the co-author of several worldwide patent applications and three patents in the field of transgenic plants, bacteriophage display and recombinant probiotics. He is also the author of more than 180 scientific and professional articles, of which over 120 in important international scientific journals with impact factor. In addition to research in the field of biologics, he is involved in the development, marketing, and regulation of dietary supplements. Prof. dr. Štrukelj is a member of several world, European and Slovenian associations in the field of pharmacy and molecular biology. In 1991, he received the Kidrič Fund Award for his research achievements, and in 1996 he was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). In 2008 he received the Zois Award, in 2009 the Minarik award, in 2010 the Fulbright Scholarship and in 2015 the Zois Award for Outstanding Achievement. Since 2010 he has been working as a guest lecturer at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, USA. From 1996 to 2011 he worked in the Pharmaceutical Biomolecules Group as an expert at the European Pharmacopoeia (Strassbourg) and until 2012 as an expert at the EMEA Medicines Agency (London) and as a food safety expert at EFSA (Parma). From 2009 to 2012, he was a member of the Medicines Council. He is the editor-in-chief of the Pharmaceutical Journal and is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms and a member of the Strategic Council for Medicines at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia. In the last few years, he has been heavily involved in the development and study of dietary supplements. He and his colleagues have already developed 8 innovative food supplements, and also prepared some formulations for production in the pharmaceutical industry. In the field of popular science, he works as a co-host on RTV Slovenia in the show Dobro jutro every 14 days.
Izidor Mlakar, PhD, received his PhD degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maribor in Slovenia. He is currently employed as a research fellow with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor. As part of his current activities he is leading the UM’s teams in two e-health related EU projects, H2020 PERSIST and H2020 HosmartAI, and contributes to an end-user-oriented pilot in a cybersecurity project H2020 PLATINR. His research interests include embodied conversational agents, companions and coaches, behavior modeling, co-verbal behavior analysis and synthesis, co-verbal synchrony, machine learning algorithms, deep learning, advanced multimodal interfaces, internet of things.
Gregor Cuzak, MSc, MBA, has been the co-creator and co-organiser of HealthDay.si, the Slovenian eHealth ecosystem. He has partnered with all relevant Slovenian health stakeholders, as well as numerous internationally, such us Health 2.0 and ECHAlliance. In 2018 Gregor became the International Ecosystem Coordinator for ECHAlliance, the largest independent European network of stakeholders in digital health. In this position he keeps in touch with 50+ health and social care ecosystems across the EU.
Professor Dipak Kalra, PhD, is President of The European Institute for Innovation through Health Data (i~HD). He plays a leading international role in research and development of Electronic Health Records, including the development of ISO standards on EHR interoperability, personal health records, EHR requirements, security and data protection. Dipak has a 30-year history of EC funded research into electronic health record representation and communication, including data protection and information security, through Horizon programmes, IMI and EIT Health projects collaborating with pharma companies, hospitals, patient and professional organisations and ICT companies. His current projects include the generation and acceptance of real world evidence in pregnancy, the governance of patient-centric clinical trials, policies and frameworks for the design and governance of mobile health programmes, scaling up the quality, interoperability and the reuse of health data for research including inputs to the European Health Data Space, the readiness of hospitals to generate evidence for value based care, and an initiative to explain the value of research using health data to the public. Dipak has been tracking the data protection (Directive and Regulation) issues regarding the reuse of health data in research, including developing codes of conduct and policies for multiple projects. Dipak is a retired Professor of Health Informatics at University College London, Visiting Professor at the University of Gent, a member of CEN and ISO standardisation bodies and a former GP.
Michael Strübin is Director Digital Health at MedTech Europe, the European trade association for the medical technology industry including diagnostics, medical devices and digital health. Strübin helps develop the medtech industry’s voice in the digital health field and represents MedTech Europe’s members vis-à-vis digital health policymakers and stakeholders. Prior to joining Medtech Europe in 2018, Strübin worked for other associations in the digital health field including the Continua Health Alliance and HIMSS. Strübin is based in Brussels, Belgium.
Minna Hendolin, PhD, has several years management and leadership experience both in private and public organization resulting in a wide knowledge in health sector business ecosystems, innovation and financing. At her recent positions at government funding and innovation organizations Business Finland and Sitra, she actively contributes to national, Nordic and EU-level health sector innovation strategies and policies. She is an active influencer and thought leader in international networks, a qualified member of the World Economic Forum Expert Group for innovation and the future of healthcare. Recently she was nominated to be a HIMSS Future50 HealthIT Leader. Her mission is to boosts the digital transformation in healthcare and at her current role at Sitra especially facilitate the journey towards joint European Health Data Space as a part of the European Commission Data Strategy. She holds a doctoral degree in biochemistry.
Metka Zaletel is a mathematician with additional education and a master's degree in the United Kingdom on the topic of social data analysis. After almost two decades of work at the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, where she dealt with survey methodology, data quality and led several projects, she joined the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) in 2010, where she has been heading the Health Data Center for more than a decade.
During her tenure, the NIJZ opened its data to users in various platforms and developed into a leading institution in the field of health and health care surveys. She actively participates in many international projects in the field of health information and registers. Among other things, she has led or co-organized several work packages in joint actions of the European Union. Her work in the framework of these projects has contributed to the exchange of knowledge in the field of health information between countries, data openness, and she is currently most involved in establishing a network of national health information points in Europe.
Maja Južnič Sotlar is a graduate English scholar and a journalist who has been working in the field of healthcare communications for more than 20 years. As a health journalist, she is mainly dedicated to oncology, where she finds it particularly important to raise awareness among the general public about the early detection of cancer. She participated in the editing of the DPOR with the Ministry of Health. She is an active member and vice-president of the Association for the Fight against Colorectal Cancer of EUropaColon Slovenia, in which she has been active since its establishment. Among other things, she also edits the bulletin of the Association. She is a member of several Slovenian and international multidisciplinary advisory groups and working groups of patient advocates.
Jurij Stariha, MSc, joined Novo Nordisk Slovenia in 2016 as MA&PA manager for Slovenian region. In 2018 he had regional responsibility as MAPA manager for Slovenia and Croatia as part of MAPA EUEast tema. In August 2018, he took over position of General Manager of Novo Nordisk. Stariha is also president of the board of Farma Forum (Slovenian EFPIA).
Stariha got his Master's degree at the Faculty of Management Koper and he speaks several foreign languages. He started his professional journey in 2002 in Droga d.d. as a bussines analyst. In 2007 he became deputy director for business at the Hospital for gynecology and obstetrics in Kranj and in 2010 he became deputy director for business of University hospital Golnik.
Stariha is also a guest lecturer as an expert in the field of health economics and has published different articles on the topic of economics in healthcare system and on financing of healthcare in Slovenia. He is a member of Association of economists in healthcare in Slovenia and a member of Association of directors of Slovenian hospitals.
Christian Theil Lundgaard, MSc, is a Head of Global Digital Health partnership at Novo Nordisk. He is responsibe for driving partnership development, including identification of commercial collaboration opportunities with operations. He is also responsible for development and maintenance of Digital Health strategy and real-word data strategy. He is part of Commercial Innovation management team.
He joined Novo Nordisk in 2015 as Associate Strategy Project Director, Corporate Strategy, where he drove strategic decision making with senior management and board of directors. He was leading a project on first Novo Nordisk acquisition in 10 + years. In 2018 he moved on to Commercial Bussines Development, where his sole focus was on busbusiness development opportunities, includin assessment of assets for Biopharm, Diabetes, NASH and obesity as well as development and maintenance on non-organic strategy.
He has background in Corporate Strategy, Commercial Bussines Development and management consulting (Bain & Company). He is also a publisher. In 2011 he was chosen as one of 15 finalists among 400 business start-ups for Venture Cup Startup Competition and 2012 for Venture Cup Idea Competition, he was chosen as one of 40 finalists from 500 ideas. The idea was awarded the People's Choice Award, voted by the audience based on the best pitch of the business idea. In 2012 he received a Novo Nordisk scholarship as financial support during his master's thesis students in the field of bioscience in Denmark and southern Sweden.