The health‑economics session of the 64th Közgazdász‑vándorgyűlés examined Hungary’s position in the digital health industry and how the country might increase its share of that market. Panelists were Péntek Márta, professor at Óbuda University, chair of the University Doctoral and Habilitation Council and vice‑chair of the National Doctoral Council, and Kincses Áron, president of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (Központi Statisztikai Hivatal). The discussion was moderated by Gulácsi László, professor at Óbuda University and a member of the section leadership.
The headline figure and global outlook
The discussion opened from one headline figure: revenues from digital health devices — covering medical devices, imaging equipment, diagnostics, labs, implants and everyday devices from blood pressure monitors to insulin pumps — are projected to reach about $700–800 billion globally by 2035. Panelists argued this segment could soon surpass the automotive industry in scale, driven by ageing populations and rising prevalence of chronic conditions.
‘Medical device lag’, profit lag and health lag
Participants stressed that digital adoption in healthcare lags behind other sectors. The long time between research and market entry — the so‑called “medical device lag” — creates financing risk for developers and investors, produces measurable “profit lag” in forgone revenues, and results in “health lag” in the form of lost health outcomes or life years. The underlying problem is information asymmetry, which is especially pronounced for AI‑enabled medical devices.
Hungary by the numbers (KSH data)
Kincses Áron presented Hungarian statistics from the Központi Statisztikai Hivatal:
- Total health expenditure in Hungary equals approximately 6.5% of GDP, compared with an EU average above 10%.\
- About three quarters of health spending is from public budgets, the remainder from households.\
- The broadly defined health industry in Hungary (pharmaceutical manufacturing, electronic medical devices and classic medical device manufacturing combined) comprises roughly 2,200 domestic firms, employs about 35,000 people and generates around 2,000 billion forints in revenue.\
- At EU level the sector produces roughly €500 billion in annual revenue; there are about 4,000 firms in pharmaceuticals, 1,800 in electronic medical devices and 63,000 in classic medical devices.\
- The Hungarian industry is highly concentrated: the top 20 firms account for 87% of revenues.\
- Hungarian‑made medical devices are export‑oriented: 87% of domestically produced devices are exported, and the health industry’s trade surplus represents about one quarter of Hungary’s total goods trade surplus.\
- Pharmaceutical R&D intensity in Hungary is the third highest in the EU relative to GDP.
These figures show a mixed picture: strong export performance and pharma R&D, but lower-than‑EU-average health spending and a concentrated company structure.
Social adaptation and digital health literacy
Péntek Márta presented results from a multi‑year research programme supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund (TKP‑2021‑NKTA‑36). The study started from the premise that delays translate into health losses and lower quality and quantity of life, and it found that the regulatory framework only began to construct necessary clinical trial, registry and cybersecurity infrastructures relatively recently — despite public assumptions that these were already in place.
The research also revealed that people living with implanted devices typically received little or no information about device use, follow‑up schedules or warning signs; because implants often lack the routine controls typical for medicines, problems may only emerge decades later.
A survey of 150 children with diabetes and their parents, conducted jointly by Óbuda University and Semmelweis University’s Department of Paediatrics, showed that greater digital health literacy and parental openness to new technology increased the uptake of insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, even where reimbursement by social insurance was already available. The Electronic Health Service Space (EESZT) shows rapid societal adaptation: in 2019 76% of the population had not heard of it, while by 2024 some 60% had ever used it and 49% had used it in the past 12 months.
Technology has ‘left the hospital’: standards lag behind
Panelists noted that medical devices have “left the hospital walls”: insulin pumps and sensors are used at home, work and playgrounds, and major manufacturers are increasingly selling integrated data ecosystems and services rather than standalone devices. This shift mirrors the movement from Industry 4.0 toward Industry 5.0 and corresponds to the emergence of Healthcare 5.0.
Kincses highlighted that international classification systems (on which Hungary’s TEÁOR is based) struggle to keep pace with new domains such as bionics and genomics, complicating statistical measurement. He also questioned whether Hungary currently has a widely accepted, up‑to‑date vision or strategy for the health industry — noting that such a document may have last existed around 2004.
What is needed: interdisciplinarity and state coordination
All participants agreed the future depends on early‑stage, interdisciplinary collaboration among engineers, statisticians, AI specialists, clinicians, health economists and psychologists — supported by explicit state coordination, vision, strategy and funding. They emphasized that success depends not on sheer volume of data but on sufficient quantities of good‑quality data to build an integrated data ecosystem that can underpin Healthcare 5.0.
Péntek noted that developers now bear more responsibility: for radically new technologies there is often no established evaluation methodology, so innovators must design and validate appropriate methods with experts, collect and analyse the right data and demonstrate value to decision‑makers and society.
Clinical fields that are quickest to collaborate with engineers, AI experts and health‑economics specialists will likely gain advantage in market entry and reimbursement.
Closing messages
Panelists concluded that Hungary can only secure a larger share of the substantial global digital health market if higher education, the KSH and professional communities form durable, functioning networks under a clear state vision and financing framework. The discussion highlighted structural, regulatory and societal challenges that must be addressed before the country can fully reap the benefits of Healthcare 5.0.
(Conference summary assembled with the aid of AI applications.)
