A comparative study on the „Digitisation Index for SMEs 2019/2020“, commissioned by Deutsche Telekom AG and researched and analysed by tech consult under various aspects of digitisation, describes the actual situation of health care providers and sectors with regard to digitisation. According to this, 2,100 small and medium-sized companies were surveyed in the summer of 2018 on how they accept digital progress and also apply and evaluate it. The digital achievements of our healthcare system include data protection and patient relations, such as online appointment bookings, digitized doctors‘ letters and the digital exchange of doctors with patients. All this then leads to improved medical procedures and also to more structured organizational and administrative processes. However, the digitization index increased by only one point compared to the previous year and, according to the fourth survey, reached 55 out of 100 possible points; this means a place in the middle of the digital transformation process. However, digitization is increasingly seen as part of the business strategy. According to the benchmark survey, 56 percent of companies are benefiting from it. 42 percent of the companies already use the digital exchange of information, and professional exchange between institutions also takes place in 52 percent of all cases. In the process, the knowledge gained is exchanged between specialist disciplines, and interdisciplinary exchange between doctors, other therapists and pharmacists, as well as with research institutions, is already taking place across the board. In addition, the artificial intelligence (AI) sector has gained enormous importance, particularly for hospitals and care institutions, to which 13 percent of all institutions attach importance for the next three years. These include imaging diagnostics using AI, text-based dialogue systems and robotics to relieve personnel. However, the protection of sensitive data, high investment costs and also sufficient time for the implementation of digital measures is often criticised. Top performers with a high degree of digitization also benefit significantly more than companies that are rather reluctant to use digitization applications. This can be seen in the operating figures and also in the product and service quality. Whichever company is interested in its own current status in digitization can carry out a free so-called online self-check.
