Medical doctor and professor Jurgen Windeler was recently appointed as the new director of Germany's Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). Professor Windeler has an extensive background in evidence-based medicine, serving as the medical director of the Medical Advisory Service of the German Statutory Health Insurance Funds for the past 10 years. A challenging road lies before Professor Windeler as he hopes to eliminate unnecessary drugs and to cut the budget by €2 billion (US$2.7 billion) annually. Furthermore he plans to extend the evaluation for effectiveness and cost-effectiveness to devices, diagnostic procedures and operations. He will also guide the institute in following regulations under a new law that mandates IQWiG to evaluate the effectiveness of all new drugs within a year of being put on the market. Pharmaceutical companies have also agreed to submit extensive data on efficiency and costs of new drugs. Previously, IQWiG had focused on drugs and procedures already on the market.
