Adoption and perception of prescribable digital health applications (DiGA) and the advancing digitalization among German internal medicine physicians: a cross-sectional survey study
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Springer Nature
Abstract
Background Therapeutic digital health applications (DiGAs) are expected to significantly enhance access to
evidence-based care. Since 2020, German physicians and psychotherapists have been able to prescribe approved
DiGAs, which are reimbursed by statutory health insurance. This study investigates the usage, knowledge and
perception of DiGAs as well as the growing digitalization among internal medicine physicians in Germany.
Methods A web-based survey was distributed at the 2024 annual congress of the German Society for Internal
Medicine. Participants could respond by scanning a QR code or directly on a tablet.
Results A total of 100 physicians completed the survey, with a mean age of 43.4 years. The majority were internal
medicine physicians (85%). Of the respondents, 31% had already prescribed DiGAs, and 29% had tested one. Selfrated
knowledge of DiGAs was low (median score 3.17/10). The main barriers identified were lack of knowledge about
effective implementation (60%), lack of time for patient onboarding (27%), and concerns about patient adherence
(21%). However, 92% believed that DiGAs could improve care, and 88% expressed interest in specific digital health
training. The majority (64%) stated that digitalization had a positive impact on medical care and 39% of physicians
expected their daily workload to decrease due to digitalization. In addition, 38% believed that the physician-patient
relationship would improve as a result of digitalization.
Conclusions While physicians widely acknowledged the potential benefits of DiGAs, adoption and understanding
remain limited. Specific training in digital health is crucial to accelerate digitalization in internal medicine.
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Except where otherwised noted, this item's license is described as Attribution 4.0 International