Why We Need to Rethink Health

A Look Behind the Vision of hermaid

Prevention is our greatest untapped potential. While conventional medicine usually intervenes only after illness has manifested, hermaid takes a different approach: digital, holistic, personalized – and above all, preventive. It’s more than just technology. It’s a mindset: Health must not be a luxury – it must remain a fundamental right.

1. From Reaction to Prevention: Why Our System Must Be Rethought

Today’s healthcare system is designed to manage illness – not to enable health. We spend billions on treating symptoms, but far too little on preventing them.

The Value-Based Healthcare concept shows a better way: not the volume of services matters, but the actual health benefits for individuals. Early, digital prevention improves quality of life, reduces treatment costs, and relieves the healthcare system – this is real value creation.

“I believe in a value-based approach: we need to invest more in preserving health – not just treating symptoms.”

hermaid empowers women to better understand their bodies, act earlier, and take control of their health.

2. Structural Barriers: Why Prevention Often Fails Because of the System

Prevention is often not seen as part of care, but as an add-on. Health insurers think in silos, separating prevention and treatment – both organizationally and financially.

“We had to choose whether hermaid would be preventive or curative – even though our offering is both.”

As a result, innovative models like hermaid don't fit into existing pathways. Yet there is progress: with research data pools and regulatory sandboxes, AI algorithms can already be validated securely, anonymously, and practically. But for prevention to become systemically embedded, more is needed: bold political decisions, integrated care pathways, and appropriate reimbursement models.

3. Digital Opportunities – But Trust is Essential

Digital tools offer enormous potential: they can detect simple medical issues early, provide guidance, and streamline care. Especially with intimate topics like the menstrual cycle, hormones, or mental health, one factor is crucial: trust.

“Technology can be a guide – evidence-based, empathetic, and customizable.”

hermaid uses intelligent user guidance, clear language, and evidence-based content. Technology will only be embraced if it supports rather than lectures.

4. Why Prevention Works – and Pays Off

The numbers speak for themselves:

• 90% of type 2 diabetes cases are preventable
• 80% of cardiovascular diseases could be avoided
• 60% of cancer cases are lifestyle-related
• 45% of neurodegenerative diseases could be reduced

So why wait for illness to develop?

Prevention is not only medically sensible – it’s also an economic lever. For companies, it means: fewer sick days, greater satisfaction, and reduced turnover. hermaid integrates prevention directly into corporate health management – not as a perk, but as a strategic element of modern HR policy.

5. Empowerment Instead of Passivity: Health Literacy as a Gamechanger

Half the population in Germany is considered to have low health literacy – meaning they don’t understand information or make informed decisions. This doesn’t just affect the less educated – it affects everyone.

“Health literacy isn’t a nice-to-have – it’s systemically relevant.”

hermaid tackles this with interactive formats, accessible language, and digital support that empowers women rather than patronizes them. Understanding enables participation – and participation promotes better health.

6. Making Prevention Effective: Behavioral Design as the Key

Prevention often fails not because of knowledge, but due to lack of implementation in everyday life. That’s why hermaid combines insights from behavioral psychology and digital design:

• ✅ Relevance over risk: “How does this affect my life today?”
• ✅ Micro-actions: small steps with feedback instead of overwhelm
• ✅ Social orientation: role models like “people like me”
• ✅ Nudging & defaults: pre-settings that encourage action
• ✅ Storytelling: emotion over statistics
• ✅ Immediate reward: noticeable progress
• ✅ Value alignment: health as part of personal goals

This makes prevention emotional, low-threshold, and practical – and thus sustainably effective.

7. The Vision: A System That Thinks in Terms of Possibilities

“Healthy aging needs AI – the medicine of the future will be preventive, not reactive.”

With AI-supported anamnesis, personalized guidance, and digital tools, prevention becomes scalable. Doctors evolve into health coaches, prevention becomes plannable, and longevity becomes a strategic focus.

hermaid actively shapes this transformation – especially in women’s health, where data gaps, taboos, and care deficiencies are particularly severe. The longevity market is growing, as is society’s willingness to invest in health.

Conclusion: Health is Not a Luxury – But a Prerequisite

If we don’t rethink prevention, we risk a healthcare system that only reacts. hermaid stands for a future in which people act earlier, make informed decisions, and live healthier – not despite, but thanks to digitalization.

“Those who don’t help shape the future of health care will live in a world where health is a luxury – not a right.”