Christian Drosten and Katharina Jünger receive the “Thieme Management Award 2020”
15.01.2021 15:25
The Thieme specialist magazine “kma Klinik Management aktuell” has Professor Dr. med. Christian Drosten, head of the Institute for Virology and Global Health at the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, received the “Thieme Management Award 2020” in the “Manager of the Year” category. Katharina Jünger came out on top among the nominated “high-flyers”. She is co-founder and CEO of TeleClinic, Germany's leading online doctor platform. The awards ceremony by the “kma” and the “Health Industry Club” (cdgw) took place on January 14, 2021 as part of a virtual gala.
““Manager of the Year 2020”: Professor Dr. med. Christian Drosten
The corona pandemic shaped the past year and is also reflected in this year's decision of the jury: Professor Christian Drosten is the first time that no clinic manager in the classic sense has received the award. Nevertheless, the majority of the jury decided in favor of the doctor and scientist. The Charité virologist demonstrated great management skills during the pandemic. He not only advises the federal government wisely and with foresight, but also regularly informs the general public. As part of his podcast, he summarizes scientific findings on the pandemic in a generally understandable and factual manner.
Drosten first studied chemical engineering and biology, then human medicine. After completing his doctorate, he researched viral diseases at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg. The pathogens and their detection in the human body become Drosten's specialty. During the SARS pandemic in 2003, he and a colleague identified the deadly virus and developed a test. From 2007 to 2017 he headed the Institute of Virology at the University of Bonn before moving to the Charité. When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, he and his team developed the polymerase chain reaction test PCR, which can be used to detect the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. A diagnostic test will be freely available as early as mid-January 2020. The scientist warned early on of a pandemic in Germany and pointed out that a wave of spread that would last two years was to be expected. When the number of infections in Germany rose in spring 2020, Chancellor Angela Merkel asked him as an expert. To this day, the virologist advises the federal government on a scientifically based basis. At the same time, since February 2020, he has been reporting in a differentiated and clear manner in his NDR podcast “The Coronavirus Update” about new study results, tests or vaccines and classifying their significance. In this format, based on scientific findings, he repeatedly gives practical recommendations for action to minimize risks, such as: “It is better to go to the supermarket once a week and shop for the whole week than a little every day.”
By awarding the prize to the internationally renowned virologist, the eight-member jury of the “Thieme Management Awards” recognized his achievements as a political consultant and communicator: “It is thanks to him that research was perceived as the most reliable orientation for crisis management within a very short period of time. He succeeds in bringing science to a broad public in a fact-based manner.”
“High-flyer 2020: Katharina Jünger
In addition, the “kma” is honoring Katharina Jünger as the “Whirlwind 2020”. Since 2017, the prize has gone to young, committed people who have distinguished themselves through creative and successful solutions in the field of healthcare.
Jünger studies law and technology management at the Center for Technology & Management in Munich. The Freiburg-born woman is the only one in her family not to choose a career as a doctor, but she still feels connected to the health sector. In 2015 - while still studying - the then 24-year-old founded the company TeleClinic together with a doctor and a software developer. Just one year later, an app is available that enables online consultations with doctors for the first time in Germany. Doctors now no longer only use the platform to provide their diagnoses, but can also issue sick notes and prescriptions. Jünger has created the technical, organizational and legal requirements for this over the years.
When the company is founded, the ban on remote treatment still applies. It will not be repealed until 2018. Katharina Jünger has done a lot of convincing work through her constant exchange with decision-makers and has thus contributed to this development. This is also an important step for TeleClinic, as the online medical treatments initially set up as model projects can now be offered throughout Germany. The service, which was initially only provided by private health insurance companies for their members, is now also free for statutory health insurance patients, and the company has exceeded the mark of 100,000 doctor-patient treatments. The corona pandemic is giving the company an additional boost, because telemedicine offers are now more in demand than ever: At the peak of the crisis, TeleClinic temporarily recorded a growth increase of 50 percent per week. In mid-2020, Jünger finally sold TeleClinic to the Swiss Zur Rose Group, which also includes DocMorris. She will remain CEO – at least for the next three years.
According to the jury, Katharina Jünger, as CEO, is the driving force behind TeleClinic's success: “For years she struggled with regulations and ultimately played a key role in building the market for online consultations in Germany. During the first wave of the corona pandemic alone, the Munich start-up recorded 250 percent more treatments and recently even managed to ensure that statutory health insurance patients can also use the service free of charge,” the jury explains their choice.