DiGA then and now

How European Healthcare is entering the digital age

Meanwhile in Finland… More than 20 years. This is how long Finland is using an electronic patient record already. The citizen of the north is used to receiving medical services like consultations and check-ups fully digital besides going to the doctor physically when necessary.

Medical data is stored digitally in Finland, like Germany is planning to do it starting from 2023 – Finland has been doing this for more than 20 years! Also: getting a prescription for a drug works fully digital as well since 2010. In Germany, companies like TeleClinic had to solve what the government was not able to fulfill: the digitalization of the healthcare industry. Now it seems like we are catching up.

The rise of the DiGA

By now most of our readers know what a DiGA is. For everyone who still did not hear the term: since the Digital Care Act in Germany of 2019, digital health applications (in German “Digitale Gesundheitsanwendungen”) are eligible for reimbursement if they are listed as a DiGA in the “DiGA Register”. To get in there, apps need to fulfill certain requirements like a proper data security strategy. As of January 2022, we are counting 28 DiGAs in the register ready for reimbursement.

Total amounts of new DiGA; Source: Brainwave Hub

By now, there are 45,000 reimbursements registered. Most likely you have not used a DiGA yet. One reason for this could be the readiness of doctors to actually prescribe an app. But the trend is pointing upwards.

If the amount of new DiGAs keeps growing like it did the past 12 months, we will break the 100 DiGA hurdle by 2025.

Advantages of Digital Health Applications

To continue reading, visit our Aescuvest Blog: https://www.aescuvest.eu/blog/diga-then-and-now/