Ditto wins National Health Innovation Prize 2026!

During Zorg & ICT (Care & ICT), Ditto and Ambyon were announced as the winners of the National Healthcare Innovation Prize, an initiative by Zorginnovatie.nl and sponsored by ING. Ditto, an app that helps patients better understand their medical consultations, received the expert jury prize of €10,000, while Ambyon's logistics care robot secured the audience prize of €5,000 with the most votes. The prizes were presented by Jet Bussemaker, chair of the Council for Public Health and Society.

Expert jury prize for Ditto: more control over medical information

The expert jury awarded the jury prize to Ditto for its direct contribution to better understanding and better adherence to care by patients, and the prevention of unnecessary repetitions for healthcare providers. Ditto addresses a common problem: after a consultation, patients often remember only a fraction of the information discussed. With the Ditto app, patients can easily record the conversation with their healthcare provider using their own phone, regardless of their healthcare institution. The consultation is then converted into an understandable summary within minutes using Dutch AI. The app rephrases the conversation at the appropriate language level and translates it into other languages if desired. The summary can then be securely shared with loved ones, without central data storage.

The jury consisted of Jan Willem Spijkman (ING), Iris van Bemmel (FME), Arianne van Lavieren (Zilveren Kruis), Sophie Brühl (Buurtdokters), and Gabriel Costa (J58). Jury chair Spijkman calls the innovation convincing: "Ditto addresses a fundamental bottleneck in healthcare. The solution is accessible, scalable, and has a clear societal impact by relieving both patients and healthcare providers. The strong patient value, user-friendliness, and clear vision on privacy and European positioning make this a convincing winner."

Tobias Polak, one of the founders of Ditto, responds: "This prize feels like recognition for a true team achievement. Where others initially had doubts, we always continued to start from one thing: the patient comes first. By building from what patients need and want, we have been able to create something that truly works and is scalable. The 80,000 downloads in just six months show that. But ultimately, it is especially the reactions from patients that motivate us they are what keep you going, even when things get tough."

ING Report: fragmentation in digital healthcare

Prior to the award ceremony, Jet Bussemaker and Jan Willem Spijkman (ING) delivered a keynote on the future of healthcare. During this session, attention was given to the importance of a single digital front door when it comes to all the healthcare portals that the Netherlands has. ING presented a new report, which addresses, among other things, how the Netherlands is a European frontrunner when it comes to investments in healthcare ICT, but that due to a lack of coherence and standardization, the country lags behind in actual digitalization. The insights from this report underscore the importance of initiatives such as the National Healthcare Innovation Prize.

About the National Healthcare Innovation Prize

Successfully scaling up healthcare innovations to daily practice is a challenge for many healthcare entrepreneurs. To support these entrepreneurs, Zorginnovatie.nl is awarding the National Healthcare Innovation Prize for the eleventh time in 2026, for the most innovative healthcare innovation in the scaling-up phase. Participants have the chance to win the expert jury prize worth €10,000 and the audience prize worth €5,000. In addition, they receive guidance in the further development of their innovation. The National Healthcare Innovation Prize is sponsored by ING.