July 3, 2025, 9:11 am | Read time: 15 minutes

Doctolib CEO Nikolay Kolev discussed artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry, app-based prevention, and how Doctolib aims to take responsibility in these areas in an interview with FITBOOK. Additionally, Kolev shared his views on data usage and protection, as well as the challenges facing the healthcare system.

Nikolay Kolev: “The Health Minister Has a Mammoth Task Ahead”

FITBOOK: Since spring, we have had a new health minister in Germany, Nina Warken. What should she urgently tackle?
Nikolay Kolev: “First of all, it’s about ensuring equal access to healthcare across the country. This is a mammoth task and has a lot to do with perceived fairness. In many regions, there simply are no general practitioners anymore. I don’t have one: I have to drive 30 kilometers to the next village. Given that we have one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world, this is hard to justify. To enable this comprehensive care, digitization and AI certainly play a significant role.”

What else does Ms. Warken need to do?
“Relief, debureaucratization, and streamlining of this apparatus. Doctors spend an average of 60 days a year on administration. Germany can reach the forefront of health technology and AI tomorrow. France is leading the way. President Macron has prioritized this issue for years.”

Also interesting: List of All Health Insurance Companies and Who They Are Suitable for

Nikolay Kolev: “That We Are Not Yet Using These Opportunities Is Regrettable to Me”

You mention AI–data is necessary for that. Is it Doctolib’s goal to become a central platform for pooling health data?
“I don’t think the goal should be to pool all data. But I am convinced that meaningful, GDPR-compliant, and responsible data use can save lives. Preventive examinations could be initiated more specifically, and preventive measures better managed. That we are not yet using these opportunities today is regrettable to me.”

What exactly do you mean by that?
“Without data such as birth date or gender, it is unfortunately not possible to say which preventive examination would be sensible. Especially from age 40 onwards, prevention is particularly important. In Germany, ten million people do not take any preventive measures at all. It’s like choosing whether to wear a seatbelt while driving. This shows that in many areas of life, everything is done to protect people, but in the most valuable area—our health—we unfortunately do not use the possibilities of technology as we could.”

Nikolay Kolev: “Doctors Should Become Health Guides”

Many people postpone examinations because they fear something will be found.
“We need to motivate people to take responsibility for their health, not with fear, but through trust. In a preventive system, the doctor is a health guide and not someone where something unpleasant is expected. Building trust is also important in the context of AI models.”

Do you also see Doctolib in the role of a health guide?
“That’s exactly what we want to be and already are today. But because the system is still as it is, we currently accompany many people through their illness. We want to start earlier—in the area of prevention. I believe in the value of anonymized data that helps improve research and care. This must happen safely, GDPR-compliantly, and voluntarily. It is not only in the interest of the individual but of everyone. It’s worth having a debate about it.”

Nikolay Kolev: “You Can’t Explain That to Anyone”

We are still far from that–and at the same time, costs for deteriorating healthcare are exploding…
“We have a system that is simply no longer affordable. Germany has one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world. Yet our healthcare system is bursting at the seams. Why is care neither affordable nor available? Why do three out of four calls to the doctor go unanswered? A doctor receives about 1,000 calls a month—but 70 to 80 percent of callers don’t get through. You can’t explain that to anyone.”

One Answer Is Prevention

What needs to happen?
“One answer is prevention. I attend my preventive appointment and thus possibly avoid a serious illness, such as a cancer diagnosis, which can entail a long suffering path for the person and their environment and cause huge costs for the system: for health insurance, the employer, the state, for example, through lost tax revenue, etc. This shows that the individual’s interest in not getting sick is compatible with that of the general public.”

Currently, around 25 percent of Germans do not attend preventive examinations annually. Why is that?
“First of all, one must understand that there is an information gap between doctor and patient. Many people do not know how often they need to go for prevention. At the same time, there are guidelines from the Joint Federal Committee on which preventive examinations are recommended depending on age and gender. This information should reach people in an understandable form. And in a second step, they should be given the opportunity to become active and easily get an appointment. A call for breast cancer prevention in the mailbox is an important step—but not enough.”

“In Reality, You Often Reach No One in Practices”

At least that happens …
“But maybe it’s not the only right channel. And above all: There is a lack of a successful ‘call to action’–the possibility of getting an appointment. When you try, the reality is that you unfortunately often reach no one in the practices.”

This creates frustration among patients and gives the impression that the system is dysfunctional.
“Correct. Yet there are already applications that offer solutions. You just have to make sure this is made transparent and people feel it works. Our AI-based phone assistant for doctor’s offices is one such example.”

“We Receive Emotional Feedback for Our AI Assistant”

Doctolib recently introduced such an AI phone assistant. Can you already draw an initial conclusion?
“We have received incredibly emotional feedback, especially from the medical assistants in the practices. The phone rings constantly there, and some get lost in the paperwork between the different lines. This is such a strong mental burden—you can’t imagine it. Many have quit because of it. Thanks to our phone assistant, they can finally focus on their actual tasks.”

How many use the tool?
“Currently, it’s about 5,000 practices. On average, they save about 45 hours per month just on phone time. That’s more than a whole week per medical assistant.”

But such assistants are also available from other providers…
“The special feature with us is the full integration. You just call, the appointment is automatically organized in the system and appears directly in the Doctolib app, or you receive an SMS with an encrypted message. If something was unclear, the conversation is transcribed so you can listen to it at your leisure. Then you realize, for example, that Mrs. Müller forgot her prescription—so you just send it to her. This means enormous relief.”

Also interesting: Almost Every Third Woman Has Had Negative Experiences with Doctors

How the AI Assistant Is Received by Patients

Have you also received feedback from patients?
“Younger and middle-aged people generally accept the system well. Older people were initially a bit skeptical: ‘Is there a computer now?’ But after one or two experiences, they see how smoothly it works–because otherwise, you’re often on hold for minutes. In a practice near Berlin, an older lady even said: ‘Your new assistant is really very nice.’”

Many doctors remain skeptical about AI, new technology, and even the electronic patient record ePA. Why is that?
“This skepticism is often caused by a lack of user-friendliness. I have rarely seen an industry where this is so much in the background as in the healthcare sector. There are endless examples—from practice software to medical hardware. The ePA could also be made a bit more open so that it communicates with other interfaces and makes the data treasure more usable. If doctors see the value in it and have a good experience—then they will also use new technologies.”

“We Are Ready to Talk to Consumer Advocates”

However, the consumer center is critical of the release of health data—for the ePA, but also for AI applications. Is this criticism justified?
“We highly value consumer protection. We are always ready to talk to consumer advocates—both about AI and about data protection and data security. But then we want to get specific and talk about solution proposals. We also need to clarify: What is the way forward? How can we be part of the wave of innovation? We process German or European data–protected by European and German law–in a data protection-compliant manner in the interest of the individual and the community. I stand 100 percent behind that, and I want to be a pioneer with Doctolib and invite everyone to join in.”

Nevertheless, many people will probably trust consumer advocates more than companies with private interests.
“I emphasize that I find data protection, data security, and data integrity extremely important. That’s why we at Doctolib have worked on it for a long time and invested a lot to obtain the ‘C5 attestation Type 2’ according to the strict criteria of the BSI, the Federal Office for Information Security. We see it as our obligation to guarantee the highest possible security standard and to work in a data protection-compliant manner. Against this background, we want to drive innovation. And we see that this is also being received by many people–25 million people and 100,000 health teams trust us.”

Is a Two-Class Society Threatening?

Is a two-class society threatening if some release their health data, and others are disadvantaged because they don’t?
“It would be a shame if it comes to that. However, data release must remain an opt-in. We need education about data protection and data security, as well as the difference between prevention and illness. In the end, each person must decide for themselves whether to make their data available. My point about anonymous data use was primarily a scientific one: The progress of recent years, and also the current AI development, is based on people making data available. This happens too little with us, so Germany also becomes dependent on others in this important issue.”

Is Doctolib Not User-Friendly?

What do you say to the consumer advocates’ criticism that Doctolib is not always user-friendly and that those with statutory insurance sometimes encounter paid or unsuitable offers?
“We take such feedback seriously. We then review the entire flows, which have already been developed with doctors and medical assistants. And if there is no good user experience at one point, we rebuild it. In the specific case, there are exactly two parameters relevant for the appointment suggestion: availability and distance. Then it is displayed whether it is a private, statutory, or self-pay appointment.”

But users specify this beforehand–and still get self-pay appointments displayed …
“We are open to any suggestions. And I find such criticism very constructive because it helps us optimize the user experience. But we don’t wait for consumer protection for that; it’s part of our daily work.”

New Doctolib Feature–Digital Health Reminders

With digital health reminders, Doctolib wants to better support patients in attending preventive examinations in the future. Health insurance companies already do this at least partially.
“Currently, we have around half a million new cancer cases a year. And only 20 to 30 percent of women and men participate in corresponding early detection examinations. So the problem seems to be: People are not reached with the preventive reminders–and if they are, it doesn’t result in an appointment.”

Because no quick appointment scheduling is linked to it?
“That’s why we took on the topic and tried to combine everything. Personalized health promotion in the area of prevention is based on the following information: gender and age in combination with the recommendations of the Joint Federal Committee. And that’s exactly what we do with the health reminders by reminding users, for example, of the next upcoming cancer screening and immediately giving them the opportunity to organize the appointment.”

How the Health Reminders Work

The prerequisite is that you release the data for it. How does it work then?
“The data release for this function is done on an opt-in and not an opt-out basis. That means the app users have to decide on it. And they can also revoke it at any time. Everything is done according to the highest possible security standards. Users who decide to do so receive their reminders via push notifications and then get the information in the app about which preventive examination it is. They can then directly schedule an appointment, either with the doctor they are already seeing or, if there is no availability there, with another doctor.”

How does it work with recurring preventive appointments? How does it work if someone wants to use this reminder soon, but was only at a corresponding appointment last year?
“If someone has previously booked preventive treatments through the health reminders in our app, the user receives a new reminder according to the cycle intended for prevention–e.g., every two years. Those who have not booked such a treatment through our app can enter when they took the preventive measure upon a reminder, and then our app adjusts the cycle accordingly.”

What do you think, how will consumer protection evaluate the digital health reminders?
“I hope that as many people as possible who are in consumer protection will use the reminders themselves and have a good experience with them. I am really convinced that we are making an important step for the healthcare system here.”

“We Must Enable People to Take Responsibility”

Why is the health reminder function of your app an important addition?
“For years and across many governments, the health ministry has rightly demanded that more responsibility be taken. It’s about developing our system from a more curative to a preventive healthcare system. Because while you can demand responsibility, there must also be an offer that people actually use. The fact that currently–in 2025–82 percent of all booked preventive appointments of our users are for cancer screening shows that it works. If we could say that 25 million people are already actively participating in prevention with us, that would suggest a real systemic impact.”

Staying Healthy–How Doctolib CEO Nikolay Kolev Eats

Finally, we want to know what you do for your own health.
“I don’t follow a strict diet plan, but I pay much more attention to what I eat today—much more consciously than ten years ago. I like to eat meat, but in moderation, and I try to include fish in my diet as often as possible. During the day, I prefer salad to heavy meals. As for my eating rhythm, I’ve found that—without consciously planning it—I follow a kind of intermittent fasting: I don’t have breakfast in the morning, try not to eat my last meal too late in the evening, and then eat again around noon. Sweets don’t play a big role for me—I simply don’t have a craving for them, so I don’t have to consciously avoid them. Overall, I try to eat a balanced diet, even if there’s certainly room for improvement. But I’m on a good path.”

Nikolay Kolev: “I Invest in My Prevention Like Others in a Mountain Bike”

What about health prevention–specifically preventive examinations?
“I regularly have the most important preventive examinations done. I’ve also started having a full-body MRI once a year. The first time, I honestly had some concerns. It’s quite a special experience. But I do it primarily for my children. I don’t want anyone to have to say later: ‘That could have been detected.’”

So you spend on health prevention?
“I see it similarly to a membership in a sports club. It’s an investment in my health. While others buy a racing bike, mountain bike, surfboard, or tennis racket, I’ve decided to invest in such a preventive service.”

Nikolay Kolev Has a Varied Sports Routine

What does your sports routine look like?
“I try to be as active as possible. I need it for my balance—both for my peace of mind and my physical peace and fitness. That means I run two to four times a week, ideally with my wife. I also do strength training two to three times a week. That’s the regular program. So I’m not active every day, but almost every day. As I get older, I need to do more strength than endurance. I need to get better at that. And otherwise, I’m a passionate skier and also enjoy playing tennis. In both sports, however, I’m now worse than my son, slower than my son. And I also enjoy mountain biking in the mountains.”

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Many Years of Intensive Taekwondo Training

You used to do martial arts.
“That was in another millennium. As a child and teenager, I did traditional Taekwondo seven times a week under the guidance of a grandmaster—an impressive personality, whom I hope is still alive. The training was very intense, and I was not only actively involved for many years but also led children’s training and youth work myself.”

How far did you get in Taekwondo?
“Officially, I only made it to the red belt. Although I was already allowed to participate in the black belt courses, my grandmaster believed that one does not yet have the necessary maturity to responsibly wear the black belt under the age of 21. Therefore, I was allowed to train with the black belts but was not awarded the black belt.”