With the Digital Health Applications Act (DVG), which came into force on December 19, 2019, digital health applications (DiGAs) can be prescribed by doctors and financed by statutory health insurance. However, since the introduction of DiGA coverage, two issues have been at the center of a dispute between the stakeholders involved: scientifically proven efficacy and...
Digital health applications (DiGA) are used to detect, monitor, treat, or alleviate the symptoms of diseases. However, in Germany, only those DiGAs that have been approved by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) are reimbursed by statutory health insurance funds. Safety and data protection requirements are among the first aspects to be examined. Afterward…
Smartphone applications are increasingly supplementing traditional healthcare: they can support patients in the prevention, treatment, or healing of diseases and also help people with dementia. For many manufacturers of so-called digital health applications (DiGA), the year 2019 represented a turning point: Germany was the first country in the world to...
Whether for smartphones, tablets, or as a web-based application on a PC: For over four years, doctors have been able to prescribe so-called digital health applications (DiGA). However, since their introduction, DiGAs, which are intended to improve healthcare, have often been the cause of conflicts between the stakeholders involved, such as...
Germany has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to digitizing its healthcare system. At the same time, health apps are becoming increasingly popular. They can be easily downloaded from app stores and used regardless of location or time. According to one study, almost 80 percent of people aged 60 to 69 are „online.“ But what about the quality of the apps, especially…
The market for digital health applications is booming. Numerous dementia self-tests are also available with just a click. But how reliable and reputable are such tests? And how can one tell? A research team wanted to shed light on the app “jungle” and searched for information on the effectiveness of dementia self-tests. With limited success. According to the...
