On Wednesday, 20 May 2026, the thematic forum Data Heals Czechia: How to Motivate Quality in Healthcare and How to Pay for It took place in the historic premises of the Institute of Anatomy of the First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University. The event was organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague, and the First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University.
We greatly appreciate that the event was personally opened by the Minister of Health, Adam Vojtěch, who emphasised in his speech the importance of data as an essential foundation for the further development of value-based healthcare and for the transition from payments based on the volume of care to payments based on quality and outcomes.
The meeting brought together representatives of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, health insurance funds, academia, healthcare providers, patient organisations, technology companies, and professional platforms.
Across the individual sessions, one common theme resonated strongly: without high-quality, timely, shared, and correctly interpreted data, it is not possible to measure the quality of care in the long term or to design reimbursement mechanisms that motivate real value for both patients and the healthcare system.
Among other topics, we discussed:
• legislative changes and incentives for quality,
• measurement of healthcare outcomes,
• reimbursement mechanisms linked to quality,
• the use of hospital data and data warehouses,
• the role of IHIS, the National Health Information System, NIKEZ, and open data,
• innovative health technologies and their financing,
• the potential of AI and the secondary use of health data,
• the need for cooperation between the state, health insurance funds, healthcare providers, academia, and patients.
We would like to thank all speakers, panellists, and participants for a substantive, open, and constructive discussion. The Data Heals Czechia forum showed that quality of care is not merely an abstract concept. To make it truly reflected in everyday practice, we need high-quality data, clear methodologies, functional cooperation, and the courage to change established procedures.
Data can heal Czechia — if we are able to connect it, interpret it correctly, and use it for decision-making that improves the quality, accessibility, and efficiency of healthcare.
