How do we ensure that AI innovations in healthcare do not remain on the shelf, but actually find their way into practice?
That question was the focus of AIC4NL's Health & Care project meeting on Nov. 4, 2025, co-sponsored by Digital Holland.
Led by Pieter Jeekel, lead of the Health & Care work area, dozens of experts from SMEs, healthcare institutions, knowledge organizations and government gathered to discuss how successful AI projects can grow into broad application.
With many initiatives toward large-scale impact
The Netherlands currently has about 120 AI projects within healthcare, ranging from diagnostics and data sharing to decision support. And over the years, only 3% of all AI pilots actually scaled up.
"That's not enough," Pieter Jeekel emphasized in his introduction. "We don't need to achieve 100 percent, but the right projects do need to scale up. So that we can better support patients, caregivers and researchers."
The causes are diverse: complex regulations, limited access to data, poor investment and fragmented ownership within consortia. "We often work on similar challenges in the Netherlands, but too little together," Jeekel said. "As a result, the wheel is reinvented unnecessarily often."
Working together to accelerate
During the meeting, Stefan Leijnen (AIC4NL) and Bart Scheerder (UMCG) gave an insight into the development of the AI Factory. Carl Moons (UMCU) explained the progress of the AI4Health LTP and Victor Plat (VWS) and Stephanie Ottenheijm (Digital Holland, formerly Top Sector ICT) presented the AI focus within the Supplementary Care and Welfare Agreement (AZWA) and in the National Technology Strategy (NTS).
After the plenary sessions, participants split into groups to discuss four themes: scale-up, ELSA methodology, data & AI and AI readiness. Discussion leaders from AIC4NL and Zorgverzekeraars Nederland led these in-depth discussions on how structural collaboration can lead to sustainable acceleration.
Toward an AI health fund
To structurally support innovation in healthcare, AIC4NL is working with others to establish an AI healthcare fund of approximately 200 million euros. This fund should enable investments in promising projects, so that successful AI applications find their way into practice faster.
"If we better align knowledge, funding and collaboration," Jeekel concluded, "the Netherlands can become an example in how AI makes healthcare smarter, more humane and more future-proof."
