Working together for the patient: Integrative care at the World Congress
How can we ensure seamless care—from acute treatment through rehabilitation to orthopaedic treatment and care? The OTWorld 2026 World Congress will address this question in several sessions. Congress President Dr Doris Maier deliberately placed this topic on the agenda.
“I imagine care as a small universe: hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, prosthetics and orthotics, therapists, and payers—each area is like its own planet orbiting the patient,” explains the Medical Director of the BG Unfallklinik Murnau. Integrative care means that these planets see themselves as a system and collaborate as centrally as possible so that the patient does not get stuck at interfaces or face long wait times. “The focus is always on the patient and their treatment outcome. Only when everything is coordinated patients, healthcare professionals, and the entire healthcare system do benefit.”
Panel Discussion
The World Congress addresses the topic from various perspectives. A panel discussion “Integrative Care – Thinking About Care in a Networked Way” on May 20 brings together representatives from hospitals, rehabilitation, physical therapy, orthopedic technology, and payers. They will discuss how cross-sector collaboration can succeed in practice—and what obstacles still exist. The goal is to bring together different perspectives and develop approaches for better-coordinated patient care.
Workshop
A workshop on the legal framework for interdisciplinary care titled “Interdisciplinarity – Is Cooperation Penalized?” on May 21 will demonstrate how complex care pathways can be implemented and the necessary collaborations organized in a legally sound manner. The presentations will highlight legal pitfalls of collaboration and focus on the patient’s care pathway. They demonstrate how responsibilities can be clearly defined and collaborations structured in a legally sound manner so that cooperation functions reliably in practice.
Symposium
In the symposium “Disaster Conference – Learning from Mistakes” , also taking place on May 21, experts from orthotics, prosthetics, and wheelchair care will analyze real-world treatment cases and discuss solutions together. This open analysis aims to help improve care processes and learn from failures.
The World Congress makes it clear: Good care arises where specialized disciplines combine their knowledge and jointly assume responsibility for the entire care pathway. When interfaces become genuine connections, everyone benefits—especially the patients.
