The report from the radiologist? It should have arrived as a fax at the doctor’s office – but where is it? Such questions are part of everyday life in the German healthcare system. A study shows digital deficits.
According to a study, Germany’s healthcare system has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to digitization.
A study by the consulting firm McKinsey published on Tuesday estimated the savings potential through digital applications at 42 billion euros per year and thus around twelve percent of health and care costs in Germany.
It’s not just about direct savings, it’s also about avoided costs and better performance. If, for example, digital monitoring systems are used, an illness can be detected early – this means that there is no expensive hospital stay in the first place.
“If used correctly, digitization can provide massive benefits in the healthcare sector,” said McKinsey study author Stefan Biesdorf. Progress has been slow compared to a similar investigation in 2018. At least there are positive examples: Significantly more appointments are now booked online than before, and the practice staff has more time for other activities. Another positive development: The demand for video consultations with the doctor increased during the pandemic.
Biesdorf and co-author Kristin Tuot describe a wide field in which progress is possible. Under the heading of “patient self-treatment”, the mentally ill should have more access to online courses, and diabetics should use digital tools more intensively.
Hospitals “drive paper through the house”
In addition, data exchange in clinics should be improved. The still widespread paper economy is a thorn in the side of the authors. “In a lot of hospitals, a lot of people are out and about and just drive paper through the house,” says Biesdorf. And he shakes his head to acknowledge that faxes are still being used in healthcare.
The two experts will present the benefits of digitization using an exemplary patient who suffers from heart failure and is discharged from the hospital. After that, technology is used to monitor his weight, among other things. The data is transmitted to the clinic and evaluated there. If the weight increases, something is wrong – “then you can act quickly and call in the patient as an outpatient,” says Biesdorf. Without the technology, he would probably have to go to the hospital again later.
Biesdorf also rates so-called symptom checkers as advantageous. These are online tools that consumers can use to get an initial assessment of their state of health. If there are no serious symptoms, you can save yourself the trip to the hospital emergency room and wait until the family doctor opens again.
Lots of potential for e-prescriptions and electronic patient files
Digitization in Germany’s healthcare industry is progressing slowly overall. On the one hand there are data protection concerns, on the other hand doctors and pharmacists fear application problems in everyday life. The electronic patient file, for example, has already been introduced but is not used very much. Another digital mammoth project is the e-prescription, which should actually become mandatory in January. But after criticism from the healthcare industry, the semi-public company responsible, Gematik, changed course and continued a voluntary test phase.
The McKinsey experts see great potential for efficiency both in the electronic patient file and in the e-prescription – here, too, they urge more speed. In Austria, for example, the e-prescription was introduced well and quite quickly, says Biesdorf.
And what do industry representatives say? The national chairman of the German Association of General Practitioners, Ulrich Weigeldt, confirms that “the potential of digitization in the healthcare system is fundamentally great”. But that is not a new finding. “The extent to which it makes sense to break down the potential into individual applications and then also put a price tag on them is another matter. Such calculations have little to do with the reality of care.”
Many suggestions not practical?
The family doctors are “happy about every digital innovation that improves patient care and represents a real relief in the practices”. However, Weigeldt complains that “the vast majority of solutions that have been developed to date according to Gematik specifications are not practical”. The registration process for the electronic patient file is far too complicated. A spokeswoman for Gematik, on the other hand, emphasizes progress on the file. There are also plans for a different approach, which will open up new opportunities and added value.
Eugen Brysch from the German Foundation for Patient Protection gets in a bad mood when he looks at the study. He sees this as a failure on the part of the various players in the healthcare system, which was at the expense of the patients. Hospitals, doctors in private practice, therapists, pharmaceutical companies, medical and medical aid companies “did not want to be looked at in the cards” and made good money doing it. That has to stop. “The Federal Minister of Health is asked to exclude service providers who are not involved in digitization,” says Brysch.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
