The Professional Association of German Laboratory Physicians (BDL) will celebrate its 70th anniversary with an annual conference on 21 and 22 May 2026 in Berlin. Under the motto “Laboratory – Key Subject of Medicine”, representatives of laboratory medicine will discuss current challenges in the industry.

The event will kick off on Thursday, 21 May, with a keynote speech by Katja Kohfeld, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health. Afterwards , the President of the German Society for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (DGKL), Prof. Dr. Mariam Klouche, will talk about the cooperation between the DGKL and BDL and the Head of the Primary Care Department of Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, Dr. David Wachabauer, on patient guidance and electronic health records.

Other topics of the first day are the biggest cost drivers in the laboratory chapter of the Fee Schedule for Physicians (GOÄ) from the point of view of private health insurance, presented by the Director of the Private Health Insurance Association, Dr. Florian Reuther. A panel discussion will be dedicated to developments and the recruitment of young talent in laboratory medicine after the pandemic. Participants include representatives of the German Medical Association, the GKV and the young generation.

On Friday, May 22, the focus will be on new diagnostic standards from pTau to NFL, the principle of personal service provision in the laboratory and the status of the MIO “Laboratory Findings” for the electronic patient record. Another panel will deal with digitization in laboratory medicine, including topics such as electronic patient records, sample logistics and artificial intelligence.

In the afternoon, Dr. Gerd W. Zimmermann will speak about the effects of the new GOÄ on general practitioner care. Prof. Dr. Ingo Schellenberg reports on the monitoring of the RiliBÄK in the GOÄ. The final meeting is the annual general meeting of the BDL, which is only open to members.

The event will take place at the Kaiserin-Friedrich-Stiftung. A reception on the evening of the first day is planned in the Parliamentary Society of the Bundestag.

Further information:

BDL: Federal Association of German Leasing Companies Leasing Association

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

Gender Notice. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple naming and gendered designations are used for better readability ected.