What SHARE TO CARE does

SHARE TO CARE. Patientenzentrierte Versorgung GmbH is a Cologne-based healthcare company founded in 2019 that operationalizes Shared Decision Making (SDM) for the German hospital and primary care market. Its offering is a standardized four-module program comprising physician communication training (6-Step SDM model with video-based coaching and MAPPIN'SDM analysis), nursing staff qualification as Decision Coaches, patient activation via three key questions, and a library of more than 80 evidence-based online decision aids covering 15 medical specialties, delivered through a GDPR-compliant web platform at entscheidungshilfe.share-to-care.de. The program is built on systematic literature reviews produced by Kleijnen Systematic Reviews, clinical content from UKSH Kiel, and editorial production by TAKEPART Media + Science GmbH (a related entity under the same managing director, PD Dr. Jens-Ulrich Rüffer).

The commercial model blends institutional program licensing (hospitals pay for full four-module implementation and may earn the SHARE TO CARE certification and logo), per-physician training fees (with CME accreditation and SDM certification), and certification fees for compliant clinics. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales into hospitals and primary care networks, often mediated by statutory health insurer (AOK, DAK, hkk, TK) contracts under hausarztzentrierte Versorgung that provide extra remuneration to participating GP practices. Distribution is supplemented by a self-serve patient decision aid portal, a small-group training program delivered across Hamburg, Würzburg, Aachen, Augsburg, München, Erlangen, and Kiel, and PR-driven physician advocacy including endorsement by Eckart von Hirschhausen.

The program originated from a Norwegian 2015 pilot at Universitetsklinikken Tromsø and was developed in Germany at UKSH Kiel starting in 2017, backed by an approximately €14 million Innovationsfonds grant. Subsequent expansion has added sites in Bremen (450 enrolled GPs), Bavaria (six university hospitals under Bayern goes SDM funded by BZKF), and Aachen (PELIKAN for rare hematological-oncological diseases, February 2024). The most consequential commercial event to date is the March 2023 G-BA recommendation to transition the program into standard care (Regelversorgung), positioning it for statutory reimbursement. The company operates with 1–10 employees, is privately held with no disclosed VC or PE backing, and has been recognized with the Award Patientendialog 2019 (2nd place) and the MSD Gesundheitspreis 2019.

Name

SHARE TO CARE

Legal name

SHARE TO CARE. Patientenzentrierte Versorgung GmbH

Website

https://share-to-care.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SHARE TO CARE is a Cologne-based healthcare company that provides a standardized Shared Decision Making program — physician training, nursing qualification, patient activation, and 80+ evidence-based online decision aids — to German hospitals, GP practices, and statutory health insurers, most notably UKSH Kiel, AOK Bremen, and Bavarian university hospitals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Shared Decision Making Healthcare Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Hospital Shared Services, GPOs & System Support Organizations (HLAFAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Care Management & Care Coordination (Home & Community-Based) (HLAFAEAL)

Keywords

• Shared decision making
• Patient decision aids
• Physician communication training
• Healthcare decision support
• Patient engagement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Program Licensing & Implementation Services to Healthcare Institutions: SHARE TO CARE generates revenue by licensing its standardized SDM program to hospitals and medical practices. Implementation includes physician training, nursing qualification, patient activation materials, and decision aid access. Health insurers (AOK, DAK, hkk, TK) provide extra remuneration to participating practices under contracts, creating a sustainable funding ecosystem.
2. Physician Training & Certification: Physicians pay to participate in SDM coaching that awards SDM certificates and CME points. The training involves online modules, video-recorded real conversations with patients, and face-to-face feedback sessions in small groups. This creates a per-physician training fee revenue stream.
3. Zertifizierung (Certification) for Clinics and Practices: Certified hospitals and practices can use the SHARE TO CARE logo on their homepage, creating a marketing differentiator for them while generating a certification fee for SHARE TO CARE. Certification criteria include 80% physician training completion, nursing staff training, patient information materials, and active decision aid utilization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SHARE TO CARE delivers a standardized Shared Decision Making (SDM) program to German healthcare institutions, consisting of four modules: physician training and video-based coaching, nursing staff qualification as Decision Coaches, patient activation through the "three key questions," and evidence-based online decision aids. The program is implemented at hospitals and GP practices under multi-year contracts, with health insurers providing extra remuneration to participating practices, and includes a certification pathway for institutions meeting program criteria.

Product overview

SHARE TO CARE is a healthcare communication platform centered on Shared Decision Making (SDM) between patients and medical professionals. The core offering consists of a standardized program with four integrated modules: physician training/coaching, nursing staff qualification (Decision Coach), patient activation, and online evidence-based decision aids. The company also provides certification for healthcare facilities implementing SDM. The decision aids cover over 80 medical topics across 15 specialty categories, delivered through a web-based platform with texts, infographics, and video content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Patient satisfaction increased; quality of informed consent conversations improved; total costs decreased; emergency admissions declined
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UKSH (Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein), Campus KielcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017UKSH Kiel is the founding project partner and primary development site for SHARE TO CARE. A highly motivated team of experienced doctors, diplom-psychologists, and research staff work together to establish SDM clinic-wide. UKSH is funded by the Innovation Fund (€14M) for the 'Making SDM A Reality' project. UKSH won the Award Patientendialog 2019 with the program.
• Techniker Krankenkasse (TK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTK supports SHARE TO CARE as an innovative cooperation partner in the Kiel Innovation Fund project. In close collaboration with LMU München, TK evaluates project results, capturing the degree of implementation and the effects of SDM on care quality and cost efficiency.
• Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs one of Europe's leading universities, LMU München evaluates the project results of the Kiel project in collaboration with TK. The degree of implementation and the effects of Shared Decision Making on care quality and cost efficiency are captured and evaluated.
• Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu KielminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Medical Faculty of Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel supports the implementation of SDM at UKSH through interdisciplinary collaboration. Training materials are used in medical student education.
• Universitätsklinikum Tromsø (Norway)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity Hospital Tromsø is a close cooperation partner. SDM has been established analogously here since 2014. Parts of the program were declared the binding model for national care in Norway ('Minebehandlingsvalg' becoming 'Helsenorge').
• Deutsches Netzwerk Gesundheitskompetenz e.V. (DNGK)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDNGK is an interdisciplinary, non-profit association developing, evaluating, and disseminating methods and concepts for health literacy promotion. SHARE TO CARE is a sponsoring member and participates in the DNGK 'Verlässliches Gesundheitswissen' program.
• TAKEPART Media + Science GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTAKEPART develops and produces all evidence-based patient information (online decision aids) and video elements for the SHARE TO CARE program in close cooperation with UKSH. Jens Ulrich Rüffer is Managing Director of both SHARE TO CARE GmbH and TAKEPART Media + Science GmbH.
• art tempiminorGTM or Marketing Partnerart tempi supports with targeted communication measures for patients, doctors, and nursing staff to implement Shared Decision Making and gives SHARE TO CARE a public face.
• AOK Bremen/Bremerhaven, hkk, DAK, Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Bremen (KVHB)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHealth insurers and the physicians' association in Bremen established contracts under hausarztzentrierte Versorgung (HzV) to provide extra remuneration for GP practices implementing SHARE TO CARE. 450 physicians enrolled. AOK Bremen and TK jointly submitted the project that won the MSD Gesundheitspreis.
• Centrum für Integrierte Onkologie (CIO) Aachen, Bonn, Köln, DüsseldorfminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIO network supports the PELIKAN project at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, implementing SDM for rare hematological-oncological diseases across the network of six university cancer centers.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CompuGroup Medical (CGM): Large German healthcare IT company providing practice management, hospital information systems, and patient communication tools. Broad incumbent in the German healthcare technology market where SHARE TO CARE operates and a potential acquirer or competitive threat.
• Emmi Solutions (Wolters Kluwer): Wolters Kluwer's Emmi Solutions delivers multimedia patient engagement programs and interactive health content to hospitals. Broad incumbent in patient engagement with overlapping capability in decision support and patient activation.
• PatientPoint: US-based patient engagement company providing point-of-care education, decision aids, and digital tools in hospitals and physician offices. Broad incumbent with comparable decision aid and patient education offerings and an established hospital channel.
• Press Ganey: US-based healthcare experience company offering patient experience surveys, performance analytics, and improvement solutions. Broad incumbent in healthcare quality and patient experience measurement, adjacent to SHARE TO CARE's patient satisfaction and conversation quality outcomes.
• GetWellNetwork: US-based patient engagement platform for hospitals, providing interactive patient education, care plans, and communication tools. Broad incumbent with overlapping focus on patient activation, education, and hospital deployment.

Direct peers

• WiserCare: US-based platform providing personalized patient decision aids integrated into clinical workflows. Directly comparable to SHARE TO CARE's web-based decision aids with physician integration and hospital deployment model.
• Option Grid (EBSCO Health): Originally developed at Dartmouth, Option Grid provides short, evidence-based decision aids for clinical encounters and is now part of EBSCO Health. Directly comparable to SHARE TO CARE's decision aid product line and clinical workflow integration.
• Healthwise: US-based non-profit providing evidence-based patient decision aids and health education for hospitals and health systems. Healthwise is the closest international peer to SHARE TO CARE's core decision aid offering, though it does not deliver the full hospital implementation program that distinguishes SHARE TO CARE.

Regional players

• m.Doc: Cologne-based patient communication platform for hospitals and clinics, providing patient information, digital consent, and engagement tools. A regional German peer with a similar hospital-focused approach and a coincident Cologne headquarters.
• smartpatient (MyTherapy): Berlin-based digital health company offering patient-facing apps, including MyTherapy for medication management and patient engagement. Regional peer in the German patient engagement space with comparable patient-empowerment mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 SHARE TO CARE