Workshop on Patient and Citizen Co-Design in Digital Health

From Coffee Beans to Digital Health

It is our pleasure to invite you to the next DigiHealthDay 2026 workshop, on the topic of Patient and Citizen Co-Design in Digital Health, taking place on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. This interactive session asks an uncomfortable but essential question: why do so many Digital Health solutions still fail the very people they are designed for?

Community-driven product development, user testing, and feedback culture have been standard practice in consumer industries for decades — from coffee brands to digital lifestyle products. Yet in healthcare, meaningful participation by patients and citizens often remains superficial, highly controlled, or reduced to statistics and token representation. This session, led by Digital Health communicator and patient expert Birgit Bauer, explores what needs to change — and puts you in the driver's seat to experience it firsthand.

What We Will Explore Together

▸What Digital Health can learn from community-centered innovation in retail, lifestyle, and consumer technology

▸Why "patient-centered" solutions so often remain expert-centered — the difference between participation and tokenism

▸The role of trust, communication, and health literacy as the missing enablers of genuine co-creation

▸Why lived experience is expertise — not anecdotal input — and how to design with that in mind

▸A rapid co-creation sprint — you will develop a Digital Health concept in a small group, with feedback inspired by patient and citizen perspectives connected to the European Digital Health Academy (edha)

Not only for people — but with them. Selected outcomes from the co-creation sprint may be highlighted during the session as examples of community-informed innovation and participatory thinking in practice.