UK Database

Whether for the treatment of migraines, sleep disorders or tinnitus: Since October, insured persons have been able to have health apps for their tablet or smartphone prescribed on prescription. This option has met with great interest among doctors in Germany: one in four doctors (24 percent) say they want to prescribe digital health applications (DiGAs) from now on. However, only 2 percent of doctors have already done so. This was the result of a survey conducted by the digital association Bitkom together with the Hartmannbund doctors' association in November 2020. According to the survey, a large proportion of doctors who have office 365 database already prescribed a health app or will do so consider it to be a useful addition to the standard medical offering (68 percent). 29 percent are of the opinion that digital health apps will even replace conventional therapies in certain cases. Almost 3 in 10 doctors (29 percent) also demand that the range of health apps should be expanded quickly. Among younger doctors aged between 25 and 44 who want to prescribe health apps or have already done so, more than half (53 percent) say this - and thus significantly more than among doctors aged 45 and over (11 percent). "Prescription health apps can complement the medical services available in Germany very well and take the digitization of the health system a big step forward," says Bitkom President Achim Berg. "So far, only six digital health applications have been approved - the review of further offers must now be continued and completed quickly."