Birgit Bauer (Germany)
Digital Health & Health Data Expert | Patient Expert | Founder of Data Saves Lives Germany and european digital health academy gGmbH
www.datasaveslives.de · www.edha.academy
Birgit Bauer is an internationally recognized digital health and health data expert, patient expert, and communication strategist. With a background in journalism and more than 17 years of experience, she works at the intersection of healthcare, technology, policy, research, and society, advocating for meaningful patient and citizen involvement in shaping digital health.
She is the founder and project coordinator of Data Saves Lives Germany (DSL DE), an independent, patient-driven initiative dedicated to improving health, digital, and data literacy. Through information, communication, and participation, DSL DE empowers people to understand and engage with the increasingly data-driven healthcare landscape. The initiative operates under the umbrella of the non-profit european digital health academy (edha) gGmbH, which Bauer also founded to advance accessible digital health education.
Her international work includes advising public institutions, industry, research organizations, and patient communities on health data, digital transformation, and meaningful engagement. She also contributes to scientific research and European collaborative projects, bringing patient perspectives and expertise into research design, implementation, and dissemination. Her work includes scientific poster presentations at international conferences, including ECTRIMS 2026, as well as leadership responsibilities for specific tasks and work packages within European research consortia.
She previously co-led the Digital Health topic group within the European Medicines Agency's Patients' and Consumers' Working Party and joined the OECD's Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) Experts Community in 2025.
Bauer is a Sciana Fellow, EUPATI Fellow, and Salzburg Global Fellow. She was named a HIMSS Future50 Patient Leader in 2021 and received the Female Transformers in Healthcare Award in the Volunteering category in 2024.
Living with multiple sclerosis since 2005, she combines lived experience with professional expertise and a strong commitment to making digital health more understandable, inclusive, and accountable.
Her guiding principle: People should not simply be informed about digital health. They should have a meaningful role in shaping it.