About Krankenhaus-IT Journal

Krankenhaus-IT Journal

The Krankenhaus-IT Journal is the opinion-forming specialist journal for information technology in German hospitals, published six times a year in Dietzenbach by the Antares Computer Verlag. Founded in February 2002 by Hartmuth Wehrs, the journal informs IT managers and administrative directors of hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation centres about the developments and trends in information and communication technology in healthcare. With more than 10,000 readers among the IT decision-makers of German and Austrian hospitals, the journal fulfils an important communication function between users, industry and service providers. Since 2025 it has been complemented by the Krankenhaus-KI Journal, a magazine-in-magazine dedicated to artificial intelligence in hospitals, and since 2020 the journal has appeared in a mixed rhythm of four print and two purely digital issues.

Overview

The Krankenhaus-IT Journal, subtitled "Fakten und Perspektiven der IT im Gesundheitswesen", addresses the IT managers and administrative directors of hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation centres in Germany and Austria. Its readership comprises the professional investment decision-makers for hospital IT: the heads of hospital IT departments, the managing and administrative directors responsible for entrepreneurial decisions, and the consultants and analysts who advise the healthcare sector. With some 2,500 hospitals and 1,000 rehabilitation clinics in Germany and Austria, and IT departments typically staffed with two specialists and managers per house, the journal reaches more than 10,000 readers.

The editorial programme is application-oriented and utility-focused, reporting on the developments and trends in information and communication technology for hospitals. The journal's stated strength is independent, well-researched, reliable and readable specialist information, enabling IT decision-makers to stay at the forefront of knowledge and to improve the speed, economy and quality of their work. Readers learn to understand technologies and trends better, develop strategies and methods, and select products. The journal thus fulfils an important communication task between users, industry and service providers.

The journal appears six times a year, in German. Since 2020 four issues have appeared in print and two purely digitally, reflecting the digitalisation of specialist media consumption. The publisher is the Antares Computer Verlag GmbH of Dietzenbach, Hesse, now led in the second generation by Kai and Kim Wehrs, the sons of the founder Hartmuth Wehrs, who died in May 2020.

History

The foundation stone for the Krankenhaus-IT Journal was laid in 1998, when the "Computer-Führer für Ärzte", the well-known yearbook that informed resident physicians about current IT trends and products for medical practices, was expanded to include the hospital IT sector. Hartmuth Wehrs, who had co-founded the Antares Verlag in 1993 and established the Antares Computer Verlag in Dietzenbach in 1998, recognised that the hospital section was occupying an ever-larger part of the yearbook. The decision was made to spin off the hospital part into its own specialist journal: the Krankenhaus-IT Journal was born.

The first issue appeared at the beginning of February 2002, with a volume of 32 pages, under the title "Der Computer-Führer, Krankenhaus-IT Journal". In his foreword, founder and long-time publisher Hartmuth Wehrs wrote that the new journal would regularly inform readers about a topic that would not let them go in the coming years. The first issue covered the hospital IT market of 2001, the diary of an electronic patient record introduction, DRG workstations in comparison, tips for internet surfers and quality assurance in case-based lump sums. Initially planned for four issues a year, the journal moved to six issues a year from 2003, a frequency maintained to this day.

Over two decades the journal documented the digitalisation of German hospitals: the introduction of hospital information systems, the DRG era's IT consequences, the electronic patient record, IT security, telemedicine and the Hospital Future Act (KHZG) with its investment programmes. The 119th issue appeared on 25 February 2022, marking twenty years of publication. Hartmuth Wehrs, who had been active as a journalist bringing together medicine and IT since the late 1980s and published the more than 500-page "Geschichte der Health-IT" in 2019 as his memoirs, died on 15 May 2020 at the age of 72. His sons Kai and Kim Wehrs, who had led the publishing house since 2019, continued his life's work.

In February 2025 the publisher launched the Krankenhaus-KI Journal as a magazine-in-magazine, appearing six times a year in the back section of the Krankenhaus-IT Journal with a separate e-paper edition, addressing the productive connection of IT, information management and artificial intelligence in hospitals. Since 2020 the journal has appeared with four print issues and two purely digital issues per year, adapting to the changing media habits of its readership.

Content and Sections

The content of the Krankenhaus-IT Journal covers the full spectrum of hospital information technology. Hospital information systems, from patient administration to clinical documentation, form the core of the coverage, with reports on system selection, implementation projects and the integration of specialised applications. IT infrastructure topics address networks, data centres, hardware and the technical foundations of hospital digitalisation. IT security, data protection and the protection of sensitive patient data are continuous themes, reflecting the critical importance of security in healthcare.

Digitalisation features follow the electronic patient record, telemedicine, patient portals and the digital services that connect hospitals with patients and referring physicians. The Hospital Future Act and its funding programmes, the KHZG special issues and the digital maturity of German hospitals have been major editorial themes in recent years. Artificial intelligence, addressed since 2025 in the dedicated Krankenhaus-KI Journal section, covers applications in diagnostics, surgery, radiology and therapy, with users, experts and providers discussing concepts, technology and best practices for the smart hospital.

Market overviews compare IT products and services, trade-fair guides accompany the industry's meeting points, and the "Messeguide" supplements support readers' fair visits. Interviews with hospital CIOs, industry executives and policymakers give the sector's decision-makers a platform, and the journal's practical orientation ensures that technological developments are always presented with their consequences for hospital operations.

Publisher and Organization

The Krankenhaus-IT Journal is published by the Antares Computer Verlag GmbH of Dietzenbach, Hesse. The publishing house was founded in 1998 by Hartmuth Wehrs, who had co-founded the Antares Verlag in 1993 with its "Computer-Führer für Ärzte" yearbook. After Wehrs's death on 15 May 2020, the publishing house has been led in the second generation by his sons Kai and Kim Wehrs, who took over the management in 2019. The journal's bibliographic record is held in the Hessian library system with the ZDB identifier 2982509-X.

The journal appears six times a year in German, with four print issues and two purely digital issues since 2020. Its readership of more than 10,000 comprises the IT managers and administrative directors of hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation centres in Germany and Austria, along with consultants and analysts. Since February 2025 the Krankenhaus-KI Journal has appeared six times a year as a magazine-in-magazine in the back section of the journal, with a separate e-paper edition, addressing artificial intelligence in hospitals.

Digital Presence

The digital home of the Krankenhaus-IT Journal is krankenhaus-it.de, the journal's online portal, which carries current news, articles and the digital editions of the magazine. The site extends the six-times-yearly publication rhythm into continuous coverage of health IT, with news on hospital digitalisation projects, IT security, industry developments and policy. The portal presents the publisher's history, including the twentieth-anniversary retrospective and the obituary for founder Hartmuth Wehrs, documenting the journal's institutional memory.

The two purely digital issues per year and the separate e-paper edition of the Krankenhaus-KI Journal reflect the digital transformation of the title. For the health IT industry, from hospital information system vendors to IT security providers and consulting firms, the combination of the print journal, the online portal and the digital editions offers a targeted channel to the IT decision-makers of German and Austrian hospitals. The journal's role as the opinion-forming specialist medium of the sector gives its digital presence particular weight in the community of hospital IT professionals.