International Affairs
Collaborations with international hospitals, universities, industry and other key-partners are crucial to our continuous development.
International Affairs
As a world-leading hospital, we deliver high-quality patient care and are globally recognised for our research, expertise and innovative approach to healthcare.
In addition to global partnerships, we aim to develop international research and innovation projects. Collaborations with industry, international hospitals, universities and other key partners around the world are crucial to our development of technological solutions, new therapies and improved diagnostics for patients.
International policy-making is essential to keeping our hospital in the vanguard of patient care. We need regulations that reflect the needs our healthcare transformation, and we encourage politicians to be ambitious and remember that the future need for healthcare is much closer than we think.
We expect further collaborations with international partners on important projects in which we share experiences and expertise through best practices while adapting to the latest needs and developments in healthcare.
Strategic Partnerships
International Affairs engages in carefully selected partnerships that we believe will have the most measurable impact on solving critical healthcare challenges. Through these strategic partnerships, we help to translate research and clinical needs into successfully implemented solutions where they’re most needed. We see these partnerships as an important catalyst for the transformational change that’s necessary to speed the adoption of new technologies and clinical practices – and to spark innovation through collaboration based on our shared expertise and capabilities.
With the help of our strategic partners, we believe that our continuous efforts can improve innovation processes by breaking down barriers to innovation while increasing knowledge transfer and facilitating a greater understanding of the importance of healthcare innovation to benefit patients and clinicians.
We engage in win-win partnerships focused on short-term value creation when it’s appropriate – as well as long-term strategic partnerships that develop over time.
European University Hospital Alliance
Aarhus University Hospital has been appointed to the prestigious European University Hospital Alliance (EUHA), a network of Europe's leading university hospitals representing the world’s most elite healthcare institutions. The resulting cooperation will connect the hospital’s researchers, clinicians and managers with other member hospitals via working groups, networking groups and innovation projects.
EUHA was established in 2017 to build expertise and accelerate innovation at Europe’s top university hospitals. Its member hospitals are proven leaders in medical treatment, education and research. They aim to advance clinical solutions and solve the challenges facing healthcare systems worldwide though collaboration and by sharing inspiration and knowledge.
With this appointment, Aarhus University Hospital joined a cohort of leading European university hospitals with track records of strong performance across highly specialised care and research – and the education of healthcare professionals. The collaboration opportunities afforded by the alliance will further the hospital’s ability to develop, evaluate and implement new treatments to improve the quality of care for patients.
One of the key purposes of EUHA is to promote excellence and innovation in treatment, research and education for better health outcomes while giving staff the opportunity to exchange knowledge and collaborate on research and development projects. The alliance enables its members to share best practices, exchange professionals, and collaborate on concrete projects, learning from one another and leveraging their joint capabilities to shape an effective, successful and sustainable European healthcare system for years to come.
Read more about EUHA.
ICON – Partnership with Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering
In late 2022, Aarhus University Hospital and Germany-based Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering ISST entered an official partnership based on applied research that aims to usher health data into the future by exploiting the computational power of artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical settings.
The project is founded on Aarhus University Hospital’s proven track record with data-driven management and Fraunhofer ISST’s position as Europe's frontrunner in building and exploiting dataspaces and data ecosystems. It will explore whether healthcare data combined with data from other dataspaces can help to optimise processes, predict future disruptions (e.g. mass events, pandemics, staff shortages) and simulate the effects of changes to internal procedures or the environment. Fraunhofer ISST and Aarhus University Hospital hope that these datasets will prove to be a powerful tool in helping healthcare systems around the world address many of the challenges they will face in the future.
Modern logistics makes it very easy to track and communicate the real-time status and location of equipment, mobile equipment and human resources. However, very few hospitals are currently leveraging these technological advancements to optimise their processes. Using data collected by Aarhus University Hospital, the organisations are working together and with operating room, emergency and pathology department experts to determine the need and potential uses of AI in these areas. The goal is to transform the current ‘intelligent hospitals’ into predictive and anticipatory hospitals that not only respond to challenges but also mitigate them.
Health Outcomes Observatory
Aarhus University Hospital has signed a collaboration agreement with the Health Outcomes Observatories (H2O) to establish a national Observatory in Denmark – and to host the Pan European Observatory. With the hospital’s long-standing commitment to improving patient outcomes, participating in this type of project is well-aligned with its strategy on providing high-quality and data-based research and clinical impact.
The national Observatories are independent non-profit legal entities created for data collection, analysis and evidence-sharing to inform clinical practices and healthcare decisions related to cancer, diabetes and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). National Observatories are also being established in Netherlands, Austria, Germany and Spain.
H2O is a public-private consortium uniting healthcare providers, regulators and decision-makers in creating a standardised data governance and infrastructure system across Europe that places patients at the heart of value-based healthcare. Using H2O’s tools, patients can measure their outcomes (i.e. Patient Reported Outcomes [PROs]) while keeping full control of their data and incorporating this information into decisions around individual and collective care, research and the evaluation of new technologies.
With this agreement, Aarhus University Hospital can begin establishing the governance and infrastructure required to run a local observatory in Denmark in collaboration with the Danish Medicines Agency and the Danish Health Data Authority. The hospital is already experienced in using PROs, with 56 active PRO solutions and more than 22,000 active patients.
See more at H2O.
Read about Ambuflex.
Read about Department of Quality Improvement and Patient Involvement.