Merel Backers

I’m Merel Backers, Founder at Digizorg. In 2019, at 28 years old, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I thought our digital healthcare was well organised, but as a patient I experienced how fragmented it truly is.

I wanted to make the journey easier for patients like me and to give something back to the doctors who were saving my life. While going through chemotherapy, I started sketching solutions at my kitchen table. Those ideas resonated. In 2022, Erasmus MC asked me to help build Digizorg, a scale-up within the hospital bringing those patient-centered ideas to life.

What started as a patient app has grown into a broader platform with tools for both patients and healthcare professionals. Today, we connect hospitals, general practitioners, pharmacies, and long-term care providers across the Netherlands.

Our patient app has reached over 131,000 downloads with 36,000 monthly active users. By improving data exchange across sectors, we’re working towards one unified health record for both patients and healthcare professionals. Backed by significant multi-year funding from Dutch health insurers, we’re evolving into an independent non-profit cooperative owned by participating healthcare organisations.

I lead design across 8+ development teams in an organisation that’s grown from 3 to 90 people in just 3 years. I bring a dual perspective as both a seasoned product designer (13+ years at agencies and in-house) and a former patient.

Currently navigating the challenges of hypergrowth and scaling patient-centered design while keeping the authentic voice that sparked it all.