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On May 12 and 13, 2026, dHealth will bring together research, healthcare, policy and industry at Schönbrunn Palace for the 20th time. Since 2007, the conference has not only made the development of digital health in Austria visible, but has also helped shape it as a platform for exchange, networking and pioneering work.
From the first iPhone to digital healthcare
When the first eHealth conference took place in Vienna in 2007, the first iPhone was presented in the same year. What at the time seemed like the beginning of a new generation of devices, in retrospect also marks a profound change in the relationship between technology, everyday life and medicine. Mobile applications, connected sensors, telemonitoring, digital platforms and data-driven care concepts have since gradually moved from a future topic into practical healthcare. The conference series has accompanied exactly this transformation from the very beginning. In 2026, it celebrates its 20th edition as dHealth and has thus become a consistent meeting point for the digital health community in Austria over more than two decades.
From eHealth to dHealth
What began as an eHealth conference has been deliberately developed further over the years. The name dHealth today stands for an expanded view of digital health. The focus is no longer only on IT applications in healthcare, but on the entire context of data collection, interoperability, clinical decision support, care processes, security and regulatory frameworks. This development also reflects the history of the field itself. Individual digital tools have evolved into a complex field of action in which technology, care, governance and data infrastructures must be considered together.
From science to application and back again
For many years, dHealth has been a place where new developments are not presented in isolation, but are placed in relation to the reality of the healthcare system. This is also reflected in its programme structure. In addition to the joint keynotes, three presentation tracks are at the centre: two with a clear application focus, in which solutions, implementation experience and examples from care practice are presented, as well as a more scientifically oriented track for current research results, methodological questions and technological developments.
In doing so, the conference addresses a central question of digital health: how do technical possibilities become solutions that actually work in healthcare? It is not only decisive whether an application is technically mature. Equally important is whether it fits into existing processes, whether interfaces and standards are viable, whether data can be used securely and whether this results in a concrete benefit for care and patients.
Pioneering work over many years
dHealth has not only reported on and discussed the development of digital health in Austria, but has also served as a platform for pioneering work over many years. Numerous topics that now seem self-evident became visible here at an early stage, were professionally classified and discussed in a broader context. These include telemedical care concepts, the digital management of chronic diseases, telemonitoring, the Electronic Health Record ELGA, interoperability as well as virtual forms of collaboration between healthcare professionals and care institutions.
“Our hope was that dHealth would not only accompany the development of digital health in Austria, but would also actively advance it as a platform for pioneering work, both in theory and in practice, in line with our motto: Health Informatics meets Digital Health. As we have, in my view, fulfilled this very well, my hope now is that dHealth will maintain this catalytic effect in the future,” says Günter Schreier, initiator of the conference and thematic coordinator for Digital Health at AIT Austrian Institute of Technology.
The programme 2026
The programme of the anniversary edition 2026 also shows how broad the field has become. Contributions are planned on Digital Cardiology, ELGA and the European Health Data Space, digital sovereignty, artificial intelligence in medicine, interoperability, real world data as well as cyber and information security in healthcare. The programme is complemented by scientific sessions, poster presentations and the new “Call for Visions 2036” award. The authors of the best submitted visions will present their ideas on how Austria can become a leading health region within the next ten years and will then discuss them with high-level representatives from the healthcare sector.
This thematic breadth makes it clear why dHealth remains relevant in its 20th year. Digital health is no longer just a topic of individual applications. It concerns the organisation of care, the quality and availability of data, Europe’s digital sovereignty, the security of critical infrastructures and the question of how new tools can be meaningfully integrated into everyday clinical practice.
The anniversary edition is therefore not only a look back at twenty years of development, but also a positioning for the next steps in digital health in Austria.
www.dhealth.at