Opportunities of digitalisation for care

In line with the re:publica motto "Who cares?", our partner The Governing Mayor of Berlin – Senate Chancellery conducted an interview with Simon Blaschke. Simon is head of the Berlin Competence Center Care 4.0, which presents innovative digital solutions that support caregivers, improve the self-determination and participation of people in need of care and extend the time they spend in their own homes.
 

What is the Berlin Competence Center Care 4.0 and what do you associate with the re:publica motto “Who cares”?

We are the central point of contact for everything to do with digitalization in the care sector in Berlin. We provide information, give impulses and allow people to experience technology. Our target group includes people in need of care, their relatives as well as private and professional caregivers. Thanks to state funding from the Senate Department for Science, Health and Care and support from the Paritätischer Landesverband Berlin, we are provider-neutral and can report openly on opportunities as well as critical aspects.

This year's motto has been very aptly chosen: Care must be secured so that all people can age with dignity. However, demographic change presents us with a double challenge: increasing demand and a shrinking supply of carers. So who will provide care tomorrow? Despite its immense urgency, the topic receives far too little public attention. Care should concern everyone!

To what extent do you see opportunities for care in the digital world?

Software can simplify work processes in nursing homes and make care documentation easier. Intelligent assistance systems can also help people in need of care to stay at home for as long as possible and relieve the workload on relatives. In view of the ongoing digital transformation, but also the shortage of staff and increasing demand, the question is not whether care will become more digital, but rather in what form this will happen and who will ultimately benefit from it. As the Berlin Competence Center Care 4.0, we are committed to ensuring that digital solutions prevail that focus entirely on the well-being of those in need of care and the caregivers.

What do you hope to accomplish at re:publica?

Most people only deal with the topic of “ long-term care needs” when they are directly affected themselves or as relatives. However, we need a broad discussion about how we as a society want to deal with the challenges of care. To this end, the topic must be brought further into the public eye. We hope that the topics addressed at re:publica will help to initiate a discourse on the desired direction of development for care in the information age. We look forward to stimulating discussions in the sessions and at the large Berlin exhibition stand.