This obituary is dedicated to acknowledge and honor our unforgettable friend and colleague Prof. Dr. Rolf Engelbrecht, who was the EFMI Press and Information Officer. He suddenly and unexpectedly passed away on 5 April 2026. After the German re-unification, Rolf Engelbrecht and Prof. Joachim Dudeck from the University of Gießen have been the most relevant and supportive persons for me, but also for my co-workers. This includes our engagement at the Institute for Biometrics and Medical Informatics at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, thereafter at the Project Group Health Telematics at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits in Erlangen, and finally at the eHealth Competence Center at the University of Regensburg. Rolf and Joachim opened us the doors to the GMDS, to EFMI, to IMIA, but also to the EU and to related German federal ministries. Thereafter, he integrated us the globally successful EU-Projects DIABCARD and BioHealth he was leading. That way, Rolf opened us the doors to the European and thereafter to the International Medical Informatics and Health Research. In that context, he pushed the Smart Card Technologies as mobile data media and as token for communication security. Furthermore, Rolf was involved in many international conferences. Thereby, he stand out because of his open mind. Therefore, he supported the opening to Eastern Europe. Consequently, we organized under his leadership the cooperation with the Baltic Republics and with Russian colleagues and academic associations, resulting in the “Large Scale Projects in eHealth – Partnership in Modernization” as well as the “Integrating Biomedical Information: From e-Cell to e-Patient” initiative. In all his engagements, Rolf always focused on the relations between medical information and Bio-Informatics. Thereby, he addressed the improved provision of medical care, i.e. Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Home Care through Medical Informatics, i.e. through integrating data and knowledge in the care process. We also strongly co-operated in the development of electronic health records. Together with Arie Hasman, Joachim Dudeck, Günter Gell, Hans-Ullrich Prokosch and myself, Rolf Engelbrecht was also strongly engaged in the project “Medical Infobahn for Europe“. Furthermore, he frequently acted as Guest Editor for many volumes in international journals.

Beyond his aforementioned scientific and practical expertise, Rolf was an extraordinary personality and a reliable friend. Rolf and his wife Uschi met my wife and myself at many formal as well as private occasions. I will never forget multiple dinner meetings we enjoyed in his house.

It is a big loss! I will miss him so much as a good friend and wise colleague. I will always commemorate him deep in my heart. It has been indeed an honor to have been counted to his friends. The EFMI and the pHealth community will always thankfully remember Rolf Engelbrecht with affection and respect.

Bernd Blobel