What What's wrong with me does

Was hab' ich? gemeinnützige GmbH is a Dresden-based nonprofit founded in 2011 that develops solutions for understandable health information in Germany. Its core service is a free, anonymous medical report translation platform (was hab' ich? Befundübersetzung), staffed by volunteer medical students and physicians, which has produced more than 70,000 individual translations since inception. The organization also operates a CME-certified e-learning course (Kommunikationskurs) that has trained 3,000+ medical professionals in patient-oriented communication, and a self-help platform (selbst-verstehen.de) launched with BAG SELBSTHILFE in 2023.

The company's commercial and impact flagship is the Patientenbrief-Software, a rule-based engine that links structured hospital information system data (ICD/OPS diagnosis and procedure codes) with physician-authored, continuously verified text modules to automatically generate patient-understandable discharge letters. The technology explicitly avoids generative AI; all 14,309 ICD diagnosis codes now carry hand-crafted plain-language explanations — an international first — published in five languages on the BMG-operated national health portal gesund.bund.de. The software is integrated with Dedalus ORBIS (800+ hospitals) and connects to any KIS via FHIR; the G-BA Innovationsausschuss has recommended transfer of the results into routine care and gematik references the product in its ePA v3.1 specification.

Was hab' ich? operates as a recognized charitable entity (gemeinnützig) funded by tax-deductible donations, prize money, grants, and government contracts. Monetization pathways now include the BMG content contract for gesund.bund.de, content review work for Stiftung Gesundheitswissen, vaccination check tools built with BIÖG, and a nascent enterprise motion: a free three-year pilot program for 15 hospitals announced in June 2026, intended to seed commercial licensing of the Patientenbrief-Software. The organization is led by co-founder and managing director Ansgar Jonietz.

Name

What's wrong with me

Legal name

Was hab' ich? gemeinnützige GmbH

Website

https://washabich.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Was hab' ich? is a Dresden-based nonprofit that translates medical reports into patient-understandable language, trains clinicians in patient communication, and sells a rule-based automated Patientenbrief-Software to German hospitals, serving patients, providers, and the Federal Ministry of Health.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Patient Health Communication Software

NAICS

Translation and Interpretation Services (541930), Educational Support Services (611710), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Interoperability Standards, Profiles & Implementation (HL7/FHIR/IHE) (HLACABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Training (EDAGANAI), Health Systems Strengthening & Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Partnerships (HLAJAOAL)

Keywords

• Medical report translation
• Patient health communication
• Hospital patient letter software
• Healthcare literacy solutions
• Clinical communication training

Headquarters

HQ city

Dresden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a nonprofit (gemeinnützig), Was hab' ich? relies on donations from individuals and organizations. Donations are tax-deductible in Germany.
2. Government Contracts: Contract from Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (BMG) for content management of the National Health Portal gesund.bund.de.
3. Hospital Software Licensing: Patientenbrief-Software offered free to pilot clinics; commercial licensing model likely for post-trial period. Integration partnerships with hospital system providers.
4. Award Prize Money: Various awards provide prize money including Lohfert-Preis (20,000 EUR), MSD Gesundheitspreis (30,000 EUR + 5,000 EUR audience prize), Berliner Gesundheitspreis (25,000 EUR).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Was hab' ich? is a German nonprofit that provides three core offerings: (1) a free Befundübersetzung service where volunteer medical students and physicians translate patient medical reports into plain language, (2) a Kommunikationskurs e-learning course for healthcare professionals, and (3) the Patientenbrief-Software, which automatically generates patient-understandable discharge letters from structured hospital information system (KIS) data.

Product overview

Was hab' ich? is a nonprofit company that develops practical, effective solutions for understandable health information. The core offerings include: (1) washabich.de - a free medical report translation service where volunteer physicians translate patients' medical reports into plain language; (2) Kommunikationskurs - an e-learning communication training course for healthcare professionals; and (3) Patientenbrief-Software - an automated software solution that creates patient-understandable discharge letters from hospital data. Supporting services include selbst-verstehen.de (example medical reports for patients), Impfcheck-Tools (vaccination recommendations), and ICD code explanations available through the National Health Portal gesund.bund.de. The company notably does not use generative AI - all content is created and reviewed by physicians.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Patientenbriefe: Automated software that creates easy-to-understand patient discharge letters for hospitals, linked to routine data from hospital information systems (KIS).
• selbst-verstehen.de

Products and services

• Befundübersetzung (Medical Report Translation) Free, anonymous service where patients submit medical reports for translation into easy-to-understand language by volunteer medical students and physicians. Over 70,000 individual translations completed since founding.
• Kommunikationskurs (Communication Course) E-learning course teaching healthcare professionals and medical students to communicate complex health information in understandable language. Certified by Sächsische Landesärztekammer with CME points, approximately 1 hour to complete.
• Patientenbrief-Software (Patient Letter Software) Software that automatically creates easy-to-understand patient discharge letters from routine hospital information system (KIS) data. Uses structured data combined with physician-created, continuously reviewed text modules. Integrates with ORBIS KIS via Dedalus partnership and connects to any KIS via FHIR.
• selbst-verstehen.de Free website providing example medical reports with easy-to-understand translations for various diseases including CIDP, Dementia, Endometriosis, Psoriasis, and Pulmonary Hypertension. Developed in collaboration with BAG SELBSTHILFE for patient education.
• Impfcheck-Tools (Vaccination Check Tools)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90% of patients read the patient letters thoroughly and find them helpful (TU Dresden study)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dedalus (ORBIS)coreTechnology or Integration · 27 March 2024Dedalus, market leader in Health IT and provider of ORBIS hospital information system, partnered with Was hab' ich? to integrate the Patientenbrief-Software. This enables 800+ hospitals using ORBIS to easily provide patient-understandable discharge letters to their patients.
• Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (BMG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2023BMG awarded Was hab' ich? the contract to manage content for gesund.bund.de, the National Health Portal. Was hab' ich? provides easy-to-understand health information for all citizens, including 14,309 ICD code explanations.
• BAG SELBSTHILFEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2023BAG SELBSTHILFE (Federal Working Group Self-Help) partnered with Was hab' ich? to launch selbst-verstehen.de, providing example medical reports with easy-to-understand translations for various diseases to support patient education.
• Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit (BIÖG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023BIÖG collaborated with Was hab' ich? to develop digital vaccination check tools that provide personalized vaccination recommendations in easy-to-understand language.
• Stiftung GesundheitswissenminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Stiftung Gesundheitswissen commissioned Was hab' ich? to review and edit health content for accuracy and readability.
• Herzzentrum Dresden UniversitätsklinikcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2019Herzzentrum Dresden partnered with Was hab' ich? as the first hospital to deploy the Patientenbrief-Software since June 2019. TU Dresden evaluates the system in a comprehensive study.
• AMEOS KlinikgruppeminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019AMEOS integrated Was hab' ich? communication training into their stipend program, making it mandatory for AMEOS Scholars to complete the course.
• Universitätsklinikum HeidelbergminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019HIPSTA station at Heidelberg's surgical clinic where medical students in their practical year write easy-to-understand discharge letters for patients, coached by Was hab' ich?.
• uvensysminorOthersManaged Service Provider supplying free server hardware and 24/7 technical support to Was hab' ich?.
• AMBOSSminorOthersMedical reference platform providing free AMBOSS access to Was hab' ich?'s full-time doctors for research purposes.
• STARFACE GmbHminorOthersIP telephony provider supplying free cloud phone system enabling professional communication with volunteer translators.
• SeaTable GmbHminorOthersCollaborative data management software provider giving free on-premise license for privacy-compliant data processing.
• De Gruyter (Pschyrembel Online)minorOthersMedical publisher providing free Pschyrembel Online access and app to volunteer Was hab' ich? members.
• OpenProjectminorOthersOpen source project management software provider, used daily by all employees for agile planning.
• JetBrainsminorOthersSoftware company providing PhpStorm development environment to Was hab' ich?.
• print24minorOthersOnline printing company providing free printing services to Was hab' ich?.
• LANCOMminorOthersNetwork solutions provider supporting Was hab' ich?'s office network infrastructure.
• Social Publish VerlagminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPublisher providing free advertising space in enorm magazine and editorial participation in 'so gesund' magazine.
• Bayer Cares FoundationminorOthersBayer foundation supporting introduction of Was hab' ich? communication courses at German universities. Was hab' ich? won Aspirin Sozialpreis 2014 (2nd jury prize and audience prize).
• Ostsächsische Sparkasse DresdenminorOthersMultiple donations enabling purchase of multifunction printer for more efficient workflows.
• sipgateminorOthersInternet telephony provider supplying free IP telephone system enabling flexible communication.
• Robert Bosch StiftungminorOthersMajor German foundation providing one-time financial support in 2013.
• Generali ZukunftsfondsminorOthersGenerali foundation providing one-time donation enabling pilot project for network optimization for retired volunteer doctors.
• medproductionminorOthersMedical content agency providing free laboratory value lexicon for use in report translations.
• Stiftung Hochschulmedizin DresdenminorOthersFoundation supporting introduction of Germany's first Was hab' ich? elective at TU Dresden Medical Faculty in October 2014.
• MEDI-LEARNminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor internet portal for medical students and young doctors, helping recruit volunteer translators.
• DoctorsFutureminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRecruitment fairs for medical students and doctors; Was hab' ich? presents volunteer opportunities.
• MeguntominorOthersDigital learning platform for medical students providing free course access to Was hab' ich? volunteers.
• Stiftung ganzheitlich gesund!minorOthersFoundation supporting promotion and combination of philosophical, psychological, medical, and scientific insights for holistic healthcare since 2015.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Healthwise: US-based nonprofit providing evidence-based patient education content and care guidance, similar to Was hab' ich?'s plain-language health information library and clinician communication training mission.
• CipherHealth: Patient engagement platform offering post-discharge outreach, rounding, and readmission prevention — competes in the same hospital patient communication workflow that Patientenbriefe targets.
• GetWellNetwork (now Get Well): Patient engagement platform used in hospitals for interactive care plans and discharge readiness, directly comparable to the patient communication / discharge workflow focus of Patientenbrief-Software.
• SeamlessMD: Digital care journey platform for surgery and inpatient episodes providing patient-facing instructions and remote monitoring — comparable to Patientenbrief-Software's automated discharge patient communication.
• Luma Health: Patient communication platform for appointment, care reminders, and post-visit messaging — overlaps with Was hab' ich?'s hospital patient communication offering but focused more on outpatient workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Krames (WebMD Ignite): Patient education and engagement content provider within WebMD Ignite; comparable to Was hab' ich?'s ICD explanations and patient-friendly discharge communication library, but operating at much larger scale and as part of a broader commercial portfolio.
• Emmi Solutions (Wolters Kluwer): Patient engagement and shared-decision-making platform from Wolters Kluwer with multimedia programs, overlapping directly with Was hab' ich?'s Patientenbrief-Software in the hospital patient communication category.
• Health Catalyst: Broad healthcare data and analytics platform used by health systems to improve outcomes — adjacent to Was hab' ich?'s use of structured KIS data to drive patient-facing communications.

Emerging players

• Ada Health: Berlin-based digital health company providing AI-powered health assessment and patient-facing explanations; comparable as a European health literacy tool but with a symptom-checker focus rather than discharge communication.
• Medisafe: Patient-facing medication and treatment companion platform; tangentially comparable to Was hab' ich?'s patient education and adherence mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xinstagram.com/_washabich_
• Facebookfacebook.com/washabich
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/washabich
• Instagraminstagram.com/_washabich_

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about What's wrong with me