**Measuring What Counts in Healthcare - **By Gareth Presch
Over the past two days in Newcastle, I had the privilege of working closely with Prof. Dr. Dennis Ostwald and Dr. Maike Schmitt from WiFOR Institute. It was an opportunity to reflect not only on the challenges we face in healthcare but also on the exciting possibilities that come when research, innovation, and implementation are brought together with a shared vision for better health and wellbeing.
WiFOR: Measuring What Matters
Founded in 2009 out of TU Darmstadt’s Department of Finance and Economic Policy under Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Bert Rürup, WiFOR has established itself as a pioneer in health economics. Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Dennis A. Ostwald, WiFOR has become a global reference point for measuring the real value of healthcare — not just in terms of cost, but in terms of health, wellbeing, and economic contribution.
Dennis’s professorship at Steinbeis University Berlin and WiFOR’s strong ties with institutions such as Harvard ensure that its work is academically rigorous while remaining highly practical. The Institute has supported countless dissertations and continues to set the bar for research that can inform real-world decision-making.
I was inspired by Dr Maike Schmitt’s drive to advance global research that addresses the serious health challenges we face. It reflects the Institute’s mission to combine scientific excellence with meaningful impact — an ethos we must carry into healthcare transformation.
From Football to Healthcare: Shared Passions, Shared Vision
What struck me in my time with Dennis was not just his deep expertise but his humanity. Over a walk in Newcastle, he shared his aspiration to one day become Chairman of his local football club. That passion for community, for creating something meaningful and enduring, mirrors our shared belief in healthcare: that we can build a model which truly serves everyone.
We agreed that despite the enormous pressures healthcare systems face, it is possible to deliver health for all. A new model is emerging—one that improves health and wellbeing, strengthens health systems, creates new and meaningful jobs, and fuels economic growth.
Dennis captured this vision powerfully in his recent keynote at the Global Social Prescribing Alliance, where he outlined policies for a sustainable future.
WHIS & WiFOR: A Partnership for Impact
In our Newcastle meetings, we explored how the World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS – Global Social Prescribing) and WiFOR can collaborate to accelerate this vision. We identified four key areas of partnership:
- Social Prescribing – Measuring the impact of social prescribing worldwide.
- Investment Support – Providing due diligence, impact assessment, and strategic support to family offices, banks, and institutional investors.
- Project Delivery – Designing and implementing outcome-based health projects using WiFOR’s economic modelling (Taxonomy) and WHIS’s innovation networks.
- Government Advisory – Supporting governments with policy design, prevention strategies, and innovative financing models, backed by robust data and global best practice. Together, WHIS and WiFOR can unite data-driven insights with real-world delivery. By doing so, we can design, finance, and implement scalable health solutions that generate measurable social, economic, and environmental returns for communities, investors, and governments.
Social Outcome Contracts: Scaling What Works
One of the most promising tools to align investment with impact is the Outcome Based Contracts** (OBCs)**. These contracts enable governments, investors, and service providers to share risk and reward by tying funding to measurable outcomes rather than activity.
In the UK, we are already working on projects that use this model to support preventative healthcare, community wellbeing, and social prescribing. By applying rigorous economic evaluation, such as WiFOR’s methodologies, we can demonstrate clear returns on investment — not only in better health but also in reduced demand on services and stronger local economies.
The opportunity now is to scale this model across the G7 and G20, creating an international framework for outcome-based financing in healthcare. WHIS and WiFOR are well placed to help countries adopt and adapt OBCs, drawing on UK experience while tailoring approaches to local contexts. By doing so, we can unlock new capital flows into health, accelerate innovation, and ensure that resources are directed where they create the greatest impact.
Why This Matters Now
If we want to achieve “health for all,” we must start measuring what counts. Too often, healthcare is framed as a cost to society, rather than as an investment in people and economies. WiFOR’s work demonstrates that health is not just a moral imperative, it is a driver of prosperity.
By shifting the lens from expenditure to impact, we can unlock new financing models, attract investment, and build health systems that are resilient, inclusive, and future-ready.
Looking Ahead
The Newcastle conversations were just the beginning. Over the coming months, WHIS and WiFOR will continue developing joint initiatives that align with upcoming opportunities, including the UN General Assembly in New York, our UK and international events, and the Global Social Prescribing Summit in 2026.
Prof. Ostwald will also join the finance panel at the Radical Health Festival in Helsinki in January 2026.
The journey ahead will not be easy, but the path is clear: if we measure what truly counts in healthcare, we can design systems that don’t just treat illness but help communities thrive.
As I left Newcastle, I was reminded of Dennis’s football dream. Building sustainable healthcare is not unlike building a successful football club—it takes vision, strategy, teamwork, and a relentless focus on the long-term goal. Together, we can make sure that goal is health for all.