Dear readers of PM Report,

it’s a pleasure to have you join me once again as we take a final walk through my Digital Health Notes.

Although, to be fair, today’s “walk” feels a bit different than usual. No new AI hype, no policy debate, no conference where the future of healthcare presents itself so convincingly that it seems like it should already be part of everyday care.

Instead, this time is about the frame itself.

PM Report is being discontinued—and with it, this column that has accompanied me online since 2023.

In digital health, three years can feel like a geological era. When this column began, many of the topics we discussed already existed—but often not in the form we see today. Artificial intelligence was more promise than practice. Wearables were still more vision than reliable data sources. And many digital solutions required a fair amount of optimism to see beyond well-designed pilot projects.

That is precisely why this column was always more than just a place to comment on current developments.

It was a space to interpret them. To look at them from different angles. And occasionally, to challenge their own narratives. Because digital health, as we all know, is particularly well-suited for big promises—and far less so for simple truths.

Over time, we explored a wide range of topics: the opportunities of digital care, the realities of implementation, the peculiarities of health policy debates, the appeal of new technologies—and the sobering realization that not every innovation is helpful simply because it sounds modern.

The goal was never just to inform, but to provide perspective. Ideally, to leave readers with a clearer understanding—and sometimes a slightly different way of looking at things.

Perhaps that was the most valuable aspect of this format:
that it left room for nuance.

For enthusiasm, when something truly made sense.
For skepticism, when hype moved faster than evidence.
And for the insight that progress in healthcare is rarely decided on stage or in press releases—but somewhere between care pathways, usability, and real-world impact.

This, too, has been a recurring theme:
that the most meaningful developments are often the quiet ones.

Not the loudest announcements, but the improvements that integrate seamlessly into existing processes—and prove themselves in everyday practice.

At the same time, there was always room for the other side:
the question of where technology promises more than it can deliver.

This is particularly evident in the case of AI. It can simplify, translate, structure, and make information accessible—but it does not replace responsibility or judgment. That, too, has been a guiding thought throughout this column.

Looking back, I’m left with the feeling that this column has been a very good place for exactly these kinds of reflections. A space where developments could not only be reported, but also interpreted, questioned, and occasionally viewed from a different perspective.

And that is anything but self-evident in a field like digital health.

Thank you for reading, for thinking along, and for engaging with these perspectives.

Because a column does not live on topics alone—but on readers who are willing to engage with ideas, questions, and sometimes even a few intellectual detours.

The end of PM Report is therefore simply a loss.
A loss of a format that made room for this kind of reflection.
And a loss of a journalistic constant that is all too rare in healthcare.

What remains are the topics—more relevant than ever.

Questions around care, prevention, data, digitalization, and artificial intelligence will certainly not disappear.

They will just no longer be discussed in this space.

And so, in closing, there is really only one thing left to say:

It has been a pleasure.
Thank you for being part of it.

Stay curious. Stay critical.
And stay engaged with these topics—even when the next wave of hype once again claims to know exactly where the future is headed.

All the best—and until we meet again, somewhere else.

Yours,
Torsten Christann