Due to the current pandemic situation, digital achievements and innovations in healthcare are gaining the upper hand more and more, which the Verband der Ersatzkassen (vdek) definitely sees as positive.
Video consultation hours, the electronic patient record (ePA) and digital health applications (DiGA) have become increasingly popular since the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. A great many people in this country are now using telemedicine communication options with physicians. While there were only 500 video consultations in the second quarter of 2019, the number rose to over one million in the same period in 2020.
Every person with health insurance has also been entitled to have the ePA made available since January 1, 2021, and from July of this year will also be able to share individual medical data as desired with doctors, who will be better connected as a result. In the long term, the benefits and thus the quality of care will increase. The digital authentication procedure, which is still being examined by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) due to security concerns, is still viewed critically by Ulrike Elsner, Chairwoman of the vdek, and she does not yet want to invest in it.
Elsner is also critical of DiGA – apps on prescription – as an important component of medical care. Ten of them have already been approved. Another 24 are currently under review by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) for approval applications.
The pricing of DiGAs is a particular headache for Elsner, because some are many times more expensive – especially in the first year when the price can be freely set – than the physician’s fee. Therefore, a cost-benefit analysis must take place and early proof of effectiveness must be provided so that the costs of up to 750 euros per quarter do not get out of hand. In addition, data protection and security must be checked sufficiently strictly, the expert said at a press conference in Berlin.
Source: Pharmazeutische-Zeitung