Our mission: to digitise self-help and think globally. What began in Germany and has proven its worth in Europe is set to become part of a global network. The SelbsthilfePRO SaaS platform is designed to support organisations in establishing digital self-help structures based on a system that is locally adapted yet centrally managed.
The platform will be more than just a combination of a modern, accessible website and the association management software behind it. It will become an active, intelligent assistant. It recognises recurring patterns across languages, cultures and healthcare systems. It distinguishes between what works universally and what needs to be adapted to the context. And it aggregates and structures recommendations – not just ‘medical’ ones, but human ones too.
At the same time, there is a clear division of labour: the platform handles the breadth, whilst the organisations focus on the depth. This means that the platform offers sound initial advice, explains, filters and structures information, whilst the dedicated staff within the organisations can deal with complex cases, provide emotional support, advocate for policy interests and address specific queries.
The platform itself becomes a neutral space for self-help – independent of health insurance providers, the pharmaceutical industry or political agendas. It is open, decentralised and secure. It is constantly evolving, fuelled by feedback from those who use it: patients, relatives, professionals and organisations.
What began in 2023 as a pragmatic response to recurring problems is becoming a globally applicable infrastructure to guide people in dealing with illness.
2023 – 20 years’ experience, a recurring pattern
We have been working with patient organisations for over 20 years. And for 20 years, we have repeatedly faced the same challenges. Whilst they may appear different on the surface, at their core they always stem from the same root cause.
This realisation was the starting point for a systematic analysis. We compared existing projects, identified parallels and began to develop a solution that is universally applicable. In doing so, we deliberately defined where customisation is necessary, where it can be optional – and where, from the user’s perspective, it is not wanted at all.
Our aim: to choose the best available approach for every problem. Best-of-breed – well thought-out, practical, tried and tested.
2024 – From Strategy to Reality
A good strategy remains theoretical until it has been put to the test. So we tested our solution with a partner with practical experience and developed a functional prototype. Feedback from users and organisations was incorporated directly into the development of the alpha version.
This involved more than just functionality: the platform was not only intended to solve problems, but also to be intuitive to use – with the aim of bringing ‘ease of use’ and ‘joy of use’ to life. For both the client and the user.
It was still unclear whether the prototype could be adapted for use by other organisations without major modifications. We took this question with us into the next phase.
2025 – The platform grows alongside reality
As we received more feedback from the field, it became clear that patient organisations are too diverse for a purely standardised system. So we have fundamentally overhauled the platform – both technically and conceptually.
The modules were designed to be customisable, editorial freedom was expanded, and interfaces with existing systems were integrated. The technological foundation became more robust, scalable – and accessible, right down to the backend.
At the same time, we broadened our focus: the platform had to be self-explanatory – requiring no training. And it had to be designed in such a way that our customer service could be largely automated.
The result was the beta version, which we used to launch live operations with further organisations.
2026 – We are making SelbsthilfePRO available to organisations
2026 marks the transition from closed testing to market launch. The volume of feedback is growing, as is its variety: technical bugs, questions about how to use the system, and requests for new features. All of this is collected, evaluated and incorporated into further development – in an agile and focused manner.
The system learns from user behaviour. It recognises contextual relationships and can thus offer relevant information – personalised to the user. To ensure this is implemented in compliance with data protection regulations, the data is anonymised before being aggregated and structured.
Another key feature of this phase is the CRM module. It is fully integrated into the existing infrastructure and offers organisations comprehensive membership management – from membership applications and donation receipts right through to event registrations.
2027 – Systematic scaling
2027 will be a year of expansion. Our aim is to attract five per cent of the approximately 100,000 patient organisations in Germany to SelbsthilfePRo. The focus will be on small to medium-sized organisations – with up to 500 members.
The reason: larger organisations have more complex requirements. However, our aim is to provide a highly standardised product that meets at least 90 per cent of the needs of 80 per cent of organisations.
At the same time, we are developing new features – including a funding generator and a free image database. Both of these components significantly enhance the platform’s utility.
2028 – SelbsthilfePRO goes global and becomes context-sensitive
In 2028, we will transcend language and national borders. After all, diseases do not respect national borders – and neither should digital solutions. We are launching the Europe-wide roll-out of the platform and introducing it in the first pilot countries: Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain. In doing so, we are not only adapting the language and legal framework – but also how we draw conclusions. Different countries – different behaviours. The platform learns to understand cultural differences in communication about illness, treatment and self-help. It recognises that recommendations are perceived differently in Scandinavia than in Southern Europe. And it learns to turn this not into arbitrariness, but into relevance – adapted to different contexts, yet built on a common foundation.
The platform is not merely translated – it is reinterpreted by people in different countries, with different realities of illness and healthcare systems. The platform recognises patterns, simplifies complexity and, for the first time, begins to consider health-related connections on a Europe-wide scale.
2029 – Digital initial consultation of international standard
The platform handles much of the initial digital counselling – it is easily accessible, minimises data collection and is tailored to the context of the respective region.
Someone who visits our platform following a new diagnosis or with a vague sense of unease receives more than just information. They receive guidance. Based on comparable disease progression and the experiences of other users, SelbsthilfePRO suggests content, formulates initial recommendations, distinguishes between what is relevant and what is not, and makes it clear when human advice is required.
Self-help organisations are evolving. They are becoming specialists in what the platform cannot provide: individual support, personal conversations and assessing exceptional cases. The rest – the simple, recurring questions – are answered automatically. With increasing certainty, depth and trust.
2030 – Thinking globally, acting locally
In 2030, the platform will open up to the world. Following a successful roll-out in Europe, we will launch in other regions in a targeted manner – initially in the USA, Canada and Australia, and selected countries in South America. Here, too, the principle remains the same: we are not exporting a ready-made system, but a structure that can be adapted.
Our AI is capable of comparing clinical pictures, treatment approaches and self-help practices on a global scale – without conflating them. It recognises differences, respects local contexts and nevertheless identifies common ground.
The platform is becoming a global network of digital self-help. People in different countries benefit from one another without losing their identity, context or culture. Organisations support one another internationally, sharing content, experiences and structures. And the AI orchestrates this diversity – always guided by the question: What helps the individual right now, in this place, with this problem?
The platform will become relevant worldwide – because health knows no borders.
