diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index cba53aee..950ecdc7 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -17,5 +17,6 @@ ENV PIPELINE2_LOCAL=false \
     PIPELINE2_AUTH_CLIENTKEY=clientid \
     PIPELINE2_AUTH_CLIENTSECRET=sekret
 EXPOSE 8181
-HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=1m CMD curl --fail http://localhost:8181/ws/alive || exit 1
+# for the healthcheck use PIPELINE2_HOST if defined. Otherwise use localhost
+HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=1m CMD curl --fail http://${PIPELINE2_HOST:-localhost}:8181/ws/alive || exit 1
 ENTRYPOINT ["/opt/daisy-pipeline2/bin/pipeline2"]