Deutsche Gesellschaft

What Deutsche Gesellschaft does

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemeine und Krankenhaus-Hygiene e.V. (DGKH) is a registered German non-profit professional medical association (eingetragener Verein) founded in 1994 and headquartered in Berlin, focused on general and hospital hygiene and infection prevention. The society serves German healthcare professionals and institutions, with operational reach extending across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). Its predecessor, the Deutschsprachiger Arbeitskreis für Krankenhaushygiene, was established in 1986 and integrated into AWMF in 2001; DGKH today maintains that working group alongside multiple Sektionen covering Antibiotic Stewardship, Hospital and Practice Hygiene, Nursing Hygiene, Outbreak Management and Molecular Typing, Medical Didactics, and Cleaning/Disinfection/Sterilization.

DGKH's core offerings are scientific and educational rather than technological. Products and services include modular continuing education programs (Modulare Fortbildung Krankenhaushygiene, ABS-Experte certification, Kurs Umwelthygiene), guidelines and position statements integrated into AWMF and referenced by KRINKO-BfArM, a monthly Hygiene-Tipp series, a portfolio of educational videos (website and YouTube), the 30 Jahre DGKH anniversary publication, and the annual scientific congress (18th edition in Berlin 2026; Essen 2027). Supporting members such as B.Braun Medical AG sponsor the society, and a network of certified training institutes distributes standardized education.

Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring membership fees from individual professionals and institutions, one-time congress and conference registration and exhibitor fees, and professional services income from continuing education and certification. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The GTM motion is community-led, relying on the congress, membership community, guideline authority, and continuing medical education programs. The current President, Prof. Dr. Martin Exner, received the Paracelsus-Medaille — the highest honor of the German medical profession — from the Bundesärztekammer in 2025.

Name

Deutsche Gesellschaft

Legal name

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemeine und Krankenhaus-Hygiene e.V.

Website

https://deutsche-gesellschaft-fuer-krankenhaushygiene.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DGKH is a Berlin-based German non-profit medical association founded in 1994 that sets standards, issues guidelines, and delivers certified continuing education in hospital hygiene and infection prevention to healthcare professionals and institutions across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Medical Association — Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Disinfection, Sanitization & Infection Prevention Services (BPABABAE)

Keywords

• Hospital hygiene guidelines
• Infection prevention training
• Antibiotic stewardship
• Medical congress events
• Healthcare professional certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees charged to healthcare professionals, institutions, and organizations seeking affiliation with DGKH's scientific community, guidelines, and professional network.
2. Congress and Conference Revenue: Revenue generated from organizing the annual congress for General and Hospital Hygiene (18th congress scheduled for Berlin 2026, Essen 2027) including registration fees and exhibitor participation.
3. Continuing Education and Certification: Fees from modular training programs (Krankenhaushygiene curriculum), antibiotic stewardship courses (ABS-Experte), and environmental hygiene courses, as well as certification of training institutes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DGKH is the German professional medical society for general and hospital hygiene, delivering evidence-based hygiene guidelines, certified modular continuing education (Hospital Hygiene curriculum, Antibiotic Stewardship expert course, Environmental Hygiene module), the annual Kongress für Allgemeine und Krankenhaus-Hygiene, and a multidisciplinary expert network organized into sections (Antibiotic Stewardship, Outbreak Management and Molecular Typing, Medical Didactics, Nursing Hygiene, Cleaning/Disinfection/Sterilization). Its guidelines inform KRINKO-BfArM and AWMF standards, and it certifies training institutes that deliver standardized hygiene education across Germany.

Product overview

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemeine und Krankenhaus-Hygiene e.V. (DGKH) is a professional medical society focused on hospital hygiene and infection prevention, not a technology product company. The organization offers a portfolio of continuing education programs (modular training in hospital hygiene, antibiotic stewardship courses, environmental medicine courses), professional development through organized sections and working groups covering specialized topics (outbreak management, molecular typing, medical didactics, cleaning/disinfection), and publications including guidelines, position statements, the monthly Hygiene-Tipp series, an annual congress, and educational videos. The society functions as a professional association providing standards, recommendations, and networking opportunities for healthcare hygiene professionals rather than a software or technology product provider.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Modulare Fortbildung Krankenhaushygiene

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DGHM, GHUP, and PEG (Joint Statement)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 January 2025DGKH issued a joint statement with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie (DGHM), Gesellschaft für Hygiene, Umweltmedizin und Präventivmedizin (GHUP), and Paul-Ehrlich-Gesellschaft für Chemotherapie (PEG) on the importance of preventive infectiology as a triad of Hygiene, Medical Microbiology, and Antibiotic Stewardship. This cross-society collaboration aims to influence national healthcare policy.
• AWMF (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DGKH's 'Arbeitskreis Krankenhaus- und Praxishygiene' (Working Group on Hospital and Practice Hygiene) has been part of AWMF since May 2001. This partnership enables DGKH to develop interdisciplinary guidelines that are officially recognized within the German medical community and integrated into AWMF's standards framework.
• B.Braun Medical AGminorOthersB.Braun Medical AG is listed as a supporting member (Fördermitglied) of DGKH, providing sponsorship related to disinfection and hygiene. Supporting members appear on the DGKH website as part of the society's funding and industry collaboration framework.
• KRINKO-BfArMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDGKH develops guidelines and recommendations that complement and inform KRINKO (Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention) and BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices) guidelines. DGKH issues statements on KRINKO recommendations, providing expert feedback on personnel and organizational requirements for infection prevention.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• International Federation of Infection Control (IFIC): Global umbrella federation convening national infection-control societies. IFIC sits above national bodies like DGKH in scope and provides an international platform that competes for influence over cross-border hygiene standards.

Regional players

• Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA): Leading U.S. professional society for healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention. SHEA is the closest international analogue to DGKH in terms of guideline-setting authority and membership base, but serves a different geography.
• Infection Prevention Society (IPS): UK-based professional society for infection prevention and control practitioners. IPS mirrors DGKH's focus on training, congresses, and practitioner standards, but operates primarily in the United Kingdom.
• Société Française d'Hygiène Hospitalière (SF2H): French national society for hospital hygiene. SF2H plays an analogous role in France to DGKH in Germany, setting national hygiene standards and organizing congresses for infection-control professionals.
• Healthcare Infection Society (HIS): UK-based charity supporting healthcare infection prevention through education, research, and guidelines. HIS competes with DGKH for European clinical mindshare on infection-prevention standards and journals.

Others

• Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften (AWMF): German umbrella organization of medical scientific societies. AWMF is the framework within which DGKH's working group operates; it is a partner rather than a competitor, but shapes how DGKH's guidelines are formally recognized nationally.
• Kommission für Krankenhaushygiene und Infektionsprävention (KRINKO): Federal commission at the Robert Koch Institute that issues binding German hospital hygiene recommendations. KRINKO is a public-sector counterpart to DGKH rather than a competitor, but its authority directly affects the demand for DGKH's complementary expert guidance.

Direct peers

• Paul-Ehrlich-Gesellschaft für Chemotherapie (PEG): German society for chemotherapy and antimicrobial therapy. PEG collaborates with DGKH on the preventive-infectiology triad and represents the antibiotic-stewardship arm that DGKH's new ABS section now competes and partners with.
• Gesellschaft für Hygiene, Umweltmedizin und Präventivmedizin (GHUP): German professional society for environmental and preventive medicine. GHUP operates in an adjacent but overlapping hygiene and prevention space and is one of DGKH's three joint-statement partners, competing for similar memberships and policy influence.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie (DGHM): Germany's primary scientific society for hygiene and microbiology. DGHM is DGKH's most direct counterpart, frequently co-issuing joint statements on preventive infectiology, and competes for influence over German infection-prevention standards and congress audiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.de/krankenhaushygiene
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deutsche-gesellschaft

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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