DIMDI - Cooperation Partners

DIMDI’s National and International Cooperation Partners

DIMDI closely collaborates with other institutes of the BMG in all areas, other federal and state authorities, as well as national and international public organisations:

• ABDATA Pharma-Data-Service
  ABDATA Pharma-Data-Service
  Manufacturer of ABDA databases (ABDA proprietary medicinal products, ABDA interactions etc.)
    
• AWMF – Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften
  Association of the Scientific Medical Societies
  The AWMF runs the electronic medicine journal, German Medical Science (gms), with publications from all medical fields of activity in cooperation with the German National Library of Medicine (ZB MED) and DIMDI.
    
• BfArM – Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte
  Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices
  BfArM is involved in the authorisation of medicinal products in Germany. DIMDI is the technical platform for the AMIS databases of the higher federal authorities for the authorisation of medical products and cooperates with them by forming a national drug information system according to § 67a AMG. BfArM also supplies DIMDI with data concerning events with medical devices in Germany. DIMDI informs the competent authorities of the Federal States about current event reports and manages a database for them including all events.
   
• Bundesgesundheitsblatt
  Federal Health Gazette
  The monthly Federal Health Gazette – Health Research – Health Protection covers all issues and areas with which the public health service and the state health policy deal with. DIMDI has been a member of the editorial advisory board for many years and participates in the topic discussion, makes its own contributions and coordinates main emphases concerning topics such as medical classifications, Health Technology Assessment (HTA), medical information systems and telematics in the health service.
    
• BPI – Bundesverband der pharmazeutischen Industrie
  German Pharmaceutical Industry Association
  DIMDI closely cooperates with the BPI in the drug information area.
    
• BSV – Schweizer Bundesamt für Sozialversicherung
  Federal Office for Social Security, Switzerland
  DIMDI prepares feasibility analyses which are used during the evaluation of medical procedures by the Swiss Health Insurance. DAHTA@DIMDI cooperates with the Swiss network for Health Technology Assessment (SNHTA) too.
    
• BVL – Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit
  The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety
  BVL is involved in the authorisation of medical products in Germany. DIMDI is the technical platform for the AMIS databases of the higher federal authorities for the authorisation of medical products and cooperates with them by forming a national drug information system according to § 67a AMG.  
    
• DESTATIS – Statistisches Bundesamt und statistische Landesämter    
  Federal Statistical Office
  DIMDI advises the Federal Statistical Office on questions concerning cause of death coding and trains the signers of the statistical national office.
    
• Deutsche Cochrane Zentrum – Institut für Medizinische Biometrie und Medizinische Informatik, Abteilung für Medizinische Biometrie und Statistikder Universität Freiburg
  German Centre of the Cochrane Collaboration, Institute for Medical Biometry and Medical Computer Science, Department for Medical Biometrics and Statistics, University of Freiburg
  The Cochrane centre, as important database provider in the area of evaluation of medical procedures and technologies, is one of DIMDI’s closest cooperation partners.
    
• DIN – Deutsches Institut für Normung
  German Institute of Standardisation
  Representatives of German interests in the supranational standardisation
  DIMDI cooperates with DIN on the NaMed sub-committee “Terminologies and semantic Networks”.
    
• EMA – European Medicines Agency
  DIMDI cooperates with the EMA in different telematics projects to convert the goals of the European Union Commission and is active in the following groups:

• EUnetHTA – European network for Health Technology Assessment Supported by the EU Commission, this project will form the cornerstone for the systematic exchange of information on Health Technology Assessment enabling a stable European network to be established. Some 36 HTA institutions from 27 European States are represented here. DAHTA@DIMDI is a member of the steering group and is furthermore responsible for the Communication and Clearing House work package.
    
• HTAi – Health Technology Assessment International With over 2000 members from 35 countries HTAi is the largest international HTA association. It is the successor to the International Society for Technology Assessment in Health Care (ISTAHC), dissolved in 2003. DAHTA@DIMDI is represented in the association’s executive committee.
    
• INAHTA – International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment
  The INAHTA is a network of international organisations, sponsored by public funds, which carry out technological impact assessment in health care. DIMDI is a member of INAHTA since January 1999.
  Furthermore, DIMDI is represented in the Steering Committee of the Coordination and Development of Health Care Technology Assessment in Europe (EUR-ASSESS), as well as in the Steering Committee HTA-Europe.
    
• INSERM – Institut nationale de la Santé et de la Recherche médicale
  Paris, France
  National Institution of Health and Medical Research
  INSERM provides DIMDI with the French translation of the MeSH.
    
• IQWiG – Institut für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen
  Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Cologne/Germany
  IQWiG evaluates pharmaceuticals, surgical procedures, diagnostic tests, clinical practice guidelines and aspects of disease management programmes. The final reports of IQWiG are included in the DAHTA-Database of DIMDI, which includes also the HTA reports by order of DIMDI and references and abstracts of reports of other federal institutions (e. g. BAK, KBV) and international HTA Agencies and Organisations (e.g. in Great Britain, France, Canada). As IT platform DIMDI provides technical support for the IQWiG website www.gesundheitsinformation.de.   
      
• ITA – Institut für Technikfolgenabschätzung
  Austria
  Institute of Technology Assessment
  There is a close information exchange between DIMDI and the ITA of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (entity for HTA), in particular, concerning the methodology of Health Technology Assessment. Austrian experts are authors of HTA reports which are published by DIMDI.
    
• KKG – Kuratorium für Fragen der Klassifikationen im Gesundheitswesen
  National Board for Classification in Health Care
  DIMDI discusses current questions concerning medical classifications with health care representatives and cooperates with them on the further development of classifications.

• MDS - Medizinischer Dienst der Spitzenverbände der Krankenkassen e.V. Medical Service of the Central Organisations of statutory Health and Care Insurances
  MDS consults the Central Organisations of statutory Health and Care Insurances concerning health care and organizing public health. It supports the cooperation of the Medical Services (MDK) und their work. DIMDI is in contact with MDS concerning several themes, e. g. classifications and databases (AMIS for MDS). Information about  the basic principles of the socio-medical assessment by MDK you can find in the MDS database SINDBAD.

• NLM – National Library of Medicine
  Bethesda, USA
  NLM is not only a producer of significant medical databases (MEDLINE etc.) and supporter of many innovative projects in the field of information supply: DIMDI works together with the NLM as a MEDLARS-Center (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System) and is represented in the International MEDLARS Center Policy Advisory Group (IMPAG).
    
• PEI – Paul-Ehrlich-Institut
  PEI is involved in the authorisation of medicinal products in Germany. DIMDI is the technical platform for the AMIS databases of the higher federal authorities for the authorisation of medical products and cooperates with them by forming a national drug information system according to § 67a AMG. DIMDI also receives data concerning incidents with high-risk in-vitro diagnostics from PEI and informs the competent authorities of the Federal States thereof.
   
• WHO – Weltgesundheitsorganisation
  World Health Organization
  DIMDI’s workings on the German-language version of the ICD-10 are carried out keeping close contact with the WHO Centre in Geneva. DIMDI continues to play a part in the maintenance of the English and French original versions of the WHO. DIMDI was named "WHO Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications" for German-speaking areas by the WHO in June, 2003.
  DIMDI is represented in all work groups of the WHO cooperation centers: Mortality Reference Group, Update Reference Committee, Implementation Committee, Education Committee, as well as Family Development Committee, and participates regularly in the Annual Meetings of the WHO Cooperation Centres. Chairman of the work group "Electronic Tools Committee" is Dr. Michael Schopen, DIMDI. He also is in charge of the WHO Collaborating Centre at DIMDI. Furthermore, DIMDI is represented in the National Expert Group for the Harmonisation of the Indicator "Drug Related Death" and in the planning committee of the "International Collaborative Effort on Automating Cause of Death Statistics".
    
• WIdO – Wissenschaftliches Institut der AOK  
  Research Institute of the Local Health Care Funds
  DIMDI cooperates with the WIdO on the production of the annually updated version of the official German ATC classification with defined daily doses.
    
• ZB MED– Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Medizin  
  German National Library of Medicine
  The cooperation between ZB MED and DIMDI is tightly linked in many areas. They cooperate on full-text offers, on several databases and in the medical information group.
   
• Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen (ZEFQ)
  German Journal for Evidence and Quality in Health Care
  The further training character of the journal occupies a forefront position; in the past years, the focus on the topics of quality assurance and encouragement of quality in the health service in addition to evidence-based medicine has been added.
  DIMDI has been part of the editorial advisory board of the journal since 2007, which is therefore also a publication forum for the institute. DIMDI participates in the topic discussion and makes its own contributions, with the main focus on assessment of medical procedures and technologies (HTA) and information systems. Furthermore, DIMDI also communicates qualified contributions from experts from research and the health service.
   
• ZI – Zentralinstitut für die kassenärztliche Versorgung
  Central Research Institute of Ambulatory Health Care in Germany
  DIMDI made a cooperation contract with the Central Research Institute concerning the maintenance and further development of the international classification of diseases.
   
• ZLG - Zentralstelle der Länder für Gesundheitsschutz
  Central Office of States for Health Protection
  DIMDI cooperates with ZLG in the scope of the information system on medical devices and by forming a national drug information system according to § 67a AMG.
    
• ZVFK – Zentrum für Versorgungsforschung der Universität zu Köln Centre for Health Services Research, Cologne
  An important goal in the scope of the cooperation with the ZVFK is the scientific investigation of relative effectiveness of methods of treatment, procedures, guidelines and complex strategies in health care. DAHTA@DIMDI works together with the ZVFK in this area in order to examine the impact of HTA reports in Germany.