“Don’t ignore period pain!”
It’s common to feel uncomfortable, or experience pain when you’re on your monthly menstrual period. But if you faint from it, pass out, or sit hunched on the floor—then you could be suffering from endometriosis. A chronic disease where specific cells grow in different areas of the body, mostly the abdomen, causing pain and impacting the quality of life. Around 10% to 15% of women of childbearing age suffer from endometriosis. Yet they are being smiled at and sent home with a hot water bottle and a mocking smile. They are simply suggested, “It’s all in your head, try meditation.” “Think positive” or “It will be alright.”
Dr. med. Nadine Rohloff, the CEO of Endo Health GmbH is a leader who strives to end such existing ignorance towards endometriosis. She believes, that in order to eliminate our ignorance towards it, we must provide the right information available. However, endometriosis being a broad subject, information is not always readily available to those affected. Besides, there’s often not enough time to talk in detail about the disease and its individual characteristics when seeking a doctor’s consultation. For these reasons, Dr. Rohloff and her team have summarized the current scientific research and useful evidence-based help in the Endo-App.
Since it’s not always possible to find the right therapeutic approach for your symptoms during a short consultation with the doctor, Dr. Rohloff has provided the affected with a tool that helps them find the right self-management and better life quality—so that you and your doctor can achieve the common goal more effectively and quickly.
Let’s dive in to learn about Dr. Rohloff’s endeavors that make her deserving of the title “Germany’s Most Inspiring Women Leaders in Healthcare to Know.”
Source of Inspiration
Dr. Rohloff was always interested in Science. In school, biology was her favorite subject. “But if I am totally honest, the final push for going into healthcare came with watching Emergency Room (ER). I was fascinated by the impact of medicine and wanted to combine something purposeful with something I really like,” says Dr. Rohloff. Also, further in her career, she loved working with people who work in health care. “If you are in the right places, everyone has the spirit of working together for a greater good,” she says. “I had the luck to work at places with an exceptional team spirit – and that just makes it so much more fun.”
Climbing the Ladder
Dr. Rohloff’s journey started with her pursuing medical studies in Münster and Dijon. After university, she knew that she wanted to specialize in Gynecology. It is a very diverse specialty combining empathy with high tech and surgery. That’s how she came to the university hospital Münster, where she worked in gynecology at the endometrioses center. “During that time, I spoke to a lot of inspiring women that have been through a lot. Especially the work in the Endometriosis Centre and the life stories of the endometriosis patients have stayed with me also after I left the university clinic to travel,” mentions Dr. Rohloff.
From there, she began to provide some guidance on a website and thought about how to provide support with a low entrance barrier. “That’s how the idea of the Endo App was born,” says Dr. Rohloff.
Daily Roles & Operations
“I’m the CEO of the company and in charge of the medical and scientific work. Together with the team, I define the direction in which the app is developing and how we can improve the well-being of thousands of women with our app,” says Dr. Rohloff.
“But of course, we do not stop there. We are consistently planning to expand our actions to help more women in need of good individual and accessible health care!”
Endo App, a One-of-a-Kind Product
Endo App is the first product developed at the company. It is an App that provides information and expert-self-management guidance on prescriptions. It’s available for every woman in the health care system in Germany. “That means, for the patients it is free, and we get our fees directly from the health insurance,” says Dr. Rohloff.
“We are also happy to provide a lot of information on our website for free. Strong pain during periods is perceived as normal but it’s not. With the information we provide on our website, we are helping women to get the confidence to go on time to the doctor.”
Dr. Rohloff and the team are also doing research and providing educational content for health professionals through courses, also in cooperation with organizations like the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung.
“With our Endo-AI we also help women to reflect on their symptoms to help them decide if their symptoms can fit to endometriosis, enabling them to seek help sooner,” she adds.
Conducting R&D Operations to Improve Diagnosis and Therapy
As a medical device company, scientific evidence is in every fibre of the company’s projects. It is currently leading a lot of R&D projects around the Endo App and also randomized studies about the effect it has on life quality. Dr. Rohloff emphasizes, “We have proven that there is a significant and also clinically relevant effect on life quality and also on specific symptoms like fatigue and emotional wellbeing.”
“The development of the Endo AI was also a very important R&D project to improve health care for women. Our team is always looking for methods to improve diagnosing and therapy in women’s health with our own R&D and with new research.”
Leveraging Technological Advances
“In healthcare, we are much later than in other industries to embrace the possibilities that technology can give us. Innovation is often slower because of course we have huge responsibilities for people’s well-being. But we have the opportunity to use digitalization and technological innovation as a big contribution to progress, to make people’s lives better,” explains Dr. Rohloff.
She shares that endometriosis is a good example. There is a lot of information and possibilities of what can be done, but it’s not accessible to many. “However, with new technologies, we have the chance to make these possibilities available for everyone. Plus, in research, we can use data and technology to close the gap between health knowledge and research between the genders. There is a lot to do to close that gap, which we got by leaving women out of many research questions in the past. That’s why I’m excited about what is to come. We are just at the beginning of what innovation can do!”
Endeavors at Endo Health
Dr. Rohloff and the team are improving the services and products at Endo Health every day! “We have a wonderful and dedicated team that is moving heaven and earth every day to provide the best possible support to people with endometriosis and all women who trust us with their health questions.”
Turning Challenges into Opportunities for Growth
The healthcare system is one of the most regulated spaces, especially in Germany. Thus, there’s a huge challenge when being innovative because the regulations can slow one down. Dr. Rohloff says, “You have to bring a lot of resilience to the table to work through the regulations. But regulations can be a good thing as well. Because they give you guidance that in most cases helps you build a better and safer product. So, it really is an opportunity to make sure you are providing the best possible care.”
“Also, the way to becoming covered by insurance is a tricky path because it is highly regulated and there are strict entry requirements. It was a hard task, but we pulled together as a team and made it!”
Words of Wisdom
For the budding entrepreneurs and enthusiasts who wish to venture into the healthcare sector, Dr. Rohloff advises, “Regulations are nothing to be afraid of because it gives you a structured framework on how to build your own product. If you obey those, you are on the safe side. But it is important to get good help and advisors early enough. You do not have to do it on your own!”
“This is true especially in health care as there are so many dedicated people and also grant programs out there that are willing to help and support you.”
Looking Ahead in 2024
Looking ahead to 2024, Dr. Rohlaff aims to help more women suffering from endometriosis and improve womens health worldwide. She says, “The app was only launched on a larger scale in 2022, so we want to help many more women in the future. We want to go beyond the app with our services and plan to offer the app internationally in the next few years. Because endometriosis knows no national borders!”
Recognition for Innovation and Excellence
Endo Health GmbH won innovation awards, like the German Health-I-Award, which was a great honor for Dr. Rohloff. But one of its greatest successes was the approval as an app on prescription, as it is a recognition of the scientific quality. “With this, we can help countless women improve their lives without them having to bear the costs themselves and have the capacity to grow. In this way, we make health accessible to all levels of society.”
“But of course, the most rewarding recognition is the positive feedback from our users. Our support team often shares those feedback with us in our team chat, because this is really what keeps us going!” concludes Dr. Rohlaff.
