Today, we had the pleasure of welcoming Michael Stahlberger, CIO of HOCH Health Ostschweiz, for an inspiring keynote as part of the Health IT lecture organized by Prof. Dr. Tobias Kowatsch within the Joint Medical Master program, a joint initiative of the University of Zurich and the University of St. Gallen.

Michael shared practical insights into how HOCH manages a highly complex IT landscape with hundreds of applications, servers, and digital services while simultaneously advancing key innovation initiatives such as telemedicine, Care@Home, AI-supported clinical workflows, and the integration of the Swiss Electronic Patient Record (EPD/ePA).

The discussion generated particularly strong interest around the Electronic Patient Dossier (EPD) and Hospital Information Systems (HIS), with many questions from students about interoperability, clinical workflows, data integration, and the real-world challenges of implementing digital infrastructures in healthcare settings. The keynote also highlighted how generative AI will be applied in clinical practice, including ambient listening during consultations and automated discharge.

A big thank you to Michael Stahlberger for the open discussion, practical perspectives, and fascinating insights into the future of digital health transformation in Switzerland.