Berlin, April 1st, 2020 – Research2Guidance, a leading analyst and strategy consulting company for the digital healthcare market since 2010, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Michael Bitzer, as Chief Growth Officer. Dr. Bitzer will lead the company’s strategic growth and expansion to new markets.
Dr. Bitzer is an entrepreneur, a pioneer and a visionary with more than 30 years of global healthcare leadership experience including consulting projects for several governments.
He joins Research2Guidance with an impressive track record of successfully leading for more than a decade Daman, the National Health Insurance Company, a JV between the government of Abu Dhabi and Munich Re. During his time with Daman he also held the role of CEO of Munich Health Daman Holding, was a board member of Saudi Enaya and Daman Qatar.
“We are excited to have Michael in the team. R2G and our clients will benefit a lot from his long management experience in the international healthcare industry,“ said Ralf Jahns, Managing Director, R2G.
Dr. Michael Bitzer will be responsible for growing the digital health business of R2G and expanding our client portfolio globally. But let’s ask him what he has in mind and what his view is on the digital health industry.
Research2Guidance: Michael, if someone asks you what have you done for the last twenty years and you only have a minute, what would you say?
Dr. Bitzer: I supported and led health insurance/reinsurance companies and tried to contribute to Universal Health Coverage in some countries. Part of the role was building teams and support colleagues in their personal growth. Last but not least, a lot of running to manage my own health and “survive” the daily pressure.
Research2Guidance: What makes you want to change this?
Dr. Bitzer: I am in a new phase of my professional life and want to focus on new exciting activities outside my old “comfort” zone. I am 58 and definitely not “digital native” but I was always excited about digital health, pushed many projects and followed the latest developments.
Research2Guidance: You have built a leading health insurance company from scratch. What role did the digital innovation play in the growth of your company?
Dr. Bitzer: Digital solutions were crucial to manage the growth and create a competitive advantage. Initially e-claims and sophisticated data analytics were a key to manage growth of claims and medical cost. Later digital health offerings for diabetes, maternity and nutrition supported the members and the own internal disease management programs. Telemedicine was introduced already many years ago with a local partner and Medgate.
Research2Guidance: Where do you see the biggest barriers for digital health in the healthcare industry?
Dr. Bitzer: I am a medical doctor and I think most of my colleagues were initially hesitant to adopt to new digital solutions. They need to be convinced of a solution since they have the trust of the patients and the implementation of digital health solutions can only be successful with their support. Many regulators were also initially relatively conservative and did not fully support digital health solutions.
Research2Guidance: Will the Corona pandemic change the way the healthcare industry looks at digital health solutions?
Dr. Bitzer: Corona is a humanitarian and economic disaster and we should now focus how can we support our communities and governments in the fight against Coronavirus. However, it is already clear now in the midst of the crisis that digital solutions can support this fight and contribute significantly in this battle against this new enemy.
Research2Guidance: When you don’t talk about healthcare and digital health, what do you do?
Dr. Bitzer: Spending time with the family, running, biking and cross-country skiing, this was a bit difficult during my time in the UAE…
Research2Guidane: Thank you and welcome, Michael!
What is the impact of the Corona crisis on the digital health industry? Take part in R2G’s global survey “Impact of COVID-19 on Global Digital Health”. And have your say!
About Research2Guidance
Research2Guidance is the leading analyst and strategy consulting company for the global digital health industry. Based in Berlin, we help our clients to evaluate opportunities and risks of the digital health market. We connect „hidden champions“ with established healthcare companies and integrate them into their business models. We run the mHealth Economics research program, the largest mHealth app developer research program globally.