About Health&Care Management

Health&Care Management

Health&Care Management (HCM) is the cross-sectoral German-language trade magazine for decision-makers and opinion leaders in hospitals, private clinics, and nursing and care homes, published six times a year. Founded in 2010 by Holzmann Medien in Bad Wörishofen and transferred to the Berlin-based MWV Medizinisch Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft effective January 1, 2025, the journal combines healthcare market expertise with application-oriented management, addressing the executives who run health and care facilities. With a print run of 7,000 copies and an actually distributed circulation of 11,508 including the e-paper, according to IVW figures, it is the only cross-sectoral business magazine of its kind in the German-speaking world for decision-makers in health and care institutions.

Overview

HCM positions itself as the magazine for the decision-making level in health and care facilities. Its editorial program covers the topics that determine the management of hospitals and care homes: medical technology, building optimization, equipment and furnishings, quality management, housekeeping, and logistics. The editorial team in Bad Wörishofen prepares specialist knowledge in practice-oriented checklists and guides, providing an overview of technological innovations, tax and legal decisions, and developments in corporate management.

The journal's cross-sectoral approach distinguishes it from titles that serve only hospitals or only care homes: it addresses the entire health economy, from the hospital CEO to the nursing-home manager, with management knowledge that applies across sectors. The print edition appears six times a year, complemented by special issues on topics such as the IT industry report for hospital management, published in coordination with the Entscheiderfabrik ahead of its decision-makers' event and with the German Hospital Day and MEDICA. The weekly newsletter "HCM aktuell," usually sent on Tuesdays, reaches around 6,900 subscribers with the latest industry news.

History

HCM was launched by Holzmann Medien with the first issue appearing on December 13, 2010. Publisher Alexander Holzmann positioned the new title in a market segment where the publishing house, known for the Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung, Rationell reinigen, and Boden Wand Decke, had not previously been active: the health economy, chosen for its favorable growth prospects and the publisher's existing connections to the topic. The founding editor-in-chief was Ivonne Ramoser, previously editor-in-chief of the Pflegezeitschrift at the Kohlhammer publishing house in Stuttgart; Simone Bittner took over advertising sales. The initial print run was 13,000 copies, with the journal planned to appear ten times a year from 2011 at an annual subscription price of 99 euros.

Over the following decade and a half, the title developed, in the words of a media-industry publication, into one of the most renowned publications in the German health sector. Bianca Flachenecker succeeded as editor-in-chief, having shaped the title's development for years, with Michael Klotz leading advertising sales. The editorial and advertising team operated from Bad Wörishofen, the Allgäu spa town that is Holzmann Medien's home.

In a strategic move, Holzmann Medien sold the HCM brand with its print, digital, and event portfolio to the Berlin-based MWV Medizinisch Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft effective January 1, 2025. Publisher Alexander Holzmann justified the sale with changed overall economic conditions and a strategic concentration on the publisher's core target groups, expressing confidence in placing the media brand in the hands of a proven specialist. MWV, a leading specialist publisher for medicine, healthcare management, and health policy with more than 3,500 editors and authors, announced it would continue HCM as a brand with its magazine, newsletter, online, and event offerings. Since July 2023, MWV has belonged to the Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag.

Coverage and Content

The journal's coverage reflects the management reality of health and care facilities. Medical technology reporting covers the equipment and systems that hospitals and care homes invest in. Building optimization addresses the planning, construction, and operation of healthcare buildings, from energy efficiency to hygiene-compliant design. Equipment and furnishing topics serve the procurement decisions of facility managers. Quality management coverage addresses the certification and quality systems that govern healthcare. Housekeeping and logistics, often overlooked in medical media, receive dedicated attention as the operational backbone of care facilities.

The special issues extend the program: the IT industry report for hospital management, published twice a year in spring and autumn, addresses the digitalization of hospitals in coordination with the industry's key events. The editorial approach emphasizes practical utility: checklists, guides, and overviews that managers can apply directly. The journal also reports on tax and legal decisions affecting the health economy and on developments in corporate management, from leadership to strategy.

Market Context

HCM serves a health economy under structural pressure. German hospitals face the most far-reaching reform of hospital financing in decades, with the hospital reform's specialization and consolidation requirements forcing strategic decisions on every management board. The care sector grapples with the skilled-worker shortage, rising costs, and the growing demand of an aging society. Digitalization, from the electronic patient record to AI-assisted diagnostics, promises relief but demands investment and organizational change.

In this environment, a cross-sectoral management journal gains relevance: the challenges of hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, and care homes increasingly overlap, from workforce recruitment to energy costs to digital infrastructure. The journal's focus on the operational disciplines, building optimization, logistics, housekeeping, quality management, addresses the areas where management decisions most directly affect both costs and care quality. The transfer to MWV, a publisher rooted in medicine and health economics, positions the brand to deepen its editorial authority in exactly the areas where the health economy's transformation is most acute.

Organization and Ownership

Since January 1, 2025, HCM has been published by the MWV Medizinisch Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, based in Berlin. MWV supplies executives in healthcare and healthcare management with specialist literature, with program focuses on healthcare provision, hospital management, and health economics, emphasizing the cross-sectoral digital transformation and sustainability. The publisher cooperates with numerous specialist societies, associations, and companies, and its more than 3,500 editors and authors are experts and decision-makers in the health economy and medicine. MWV belongs to the Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag.

Before the sale, HCM was published by Holzmann Medien GmbH & Co. KG in Bad Wörishofen, with the editorial office at Postfach 1342, 86816 Bad Wörishofen. The editorial team included Bianca Flachenecker (editor-in-chief), Carolina Heske (editor), and Andrea Schaffer (editorial assistant), with Michael Klotz leading advertising, Susanne Fleschutz handling media disposition, and Manuela Mayer in product management. The transfer to MWV brought the title under a publisher whose core competence is healthcare, promising continuity for the brand's print, newsletter, online, and event offerings.

Digital Presence

The portal hcm-magazin.de (also hcmmagazin.de) is the utility portal for decision-makers and opinion leaders in hospitals, clinics, and retirement and nursing homes, offering IVW-audited reach for banner and native advertising formats. The website generated 29,671 visits and 48,066 page impressions in April 2022, according to IVW figures. The weekly newsletter "HCM aktuell" reaches around 6,900 subscribers, with the publisher noting that subscribers would continue to receive the latest health-industry news weekly after the ownership change.

Social media extends the brand's reach: the media data reported around 80,000 subscribers and followers across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, XING, and Instagram. Video formats, including the HCM Messe Talk and on-site reports with product presentations, extend the brand into moving images. For a B2B audience of healthcare executives, the digital presence functions as both a news service and a business platform, connecting the health economy's decision-makers through the newsletter, the portal, and social channels.