Patients want video consultation hours, health apps and a second AI opinion

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In a few weeks, doctors in Germany will be able to prescribe health apps for their patients for the first time. The introduction of the electronic patient file will follow in early 2021, and the e-prescription will be mandatory in 2022. For many German citizens, however, this does not happen quickly enough.

Around two thirds (65 percent) of people in Germany say that more speed is needed when expanding digital health offers. 60 percent think that Germany is lagging behind other countries when it comes to digitizing the health system. Nevertheless, a lot has happened in the past few weeks during the corona pandemic: one in eight (13 percent) has already attended a video consultation with a doctor or therapist. This means that the value has almost tripled compared to the previous year (5 percent) and rose sharply, especially within the Corona quarter.

These are the results of two more representative ones Surveys on behalf of the Bitkom digital association. The first was carried out from the end of April to the beginning of May 2020 among 1,193 people aged 16 and over in Germany, the second in early July 2020 among 1,005 people in Germany aged 16 and over. According to this, almost one in two (45 percent) of those who have not yet attended a video consultation can imagine going to the doctor online in the future.

Video consultation

Anyone who has been to the video consultation hour wants to go back: 12 percent say they want to use an online consultation hour again in the future, only 1 percent want to refrain from doing so. Patients book the digital consultation almost exclusively with their own, already known doctor (97 percent). The participants generally experience the online doctor’s visit as positive: 87 percent rate their experience as good or very good. For many, the corona virus was the decisive factor in using a video consultation: 85 percent worry about infection with Covid-19 in the doctor’s office. 41 percent are afraid of contracting another disease in the waiting room. More than one in two (54 percent) cites a reason for wanting to get medical advice as quickly as possible, other reasons are avoiding waiting times (38 percent), convenience (35 percent) and one in four (26 percent) just does it Curiosity.

App on prescription

Whether diabetes diaries, back exercises at health home or eye training – more and more patients are open to health apps that the doctor prescribes. The first apps of this type will be available in Germany from summer 2020 and will be covered by statutory health insurance. Almost 6 out of 10 respondents (59 percent) can well imagine using such an app. Almost every second person (48 percent) says this even among the over 65s. 4 out of 10 patients (40 percent) even want to actively ask their doctor for an app on prescription and almost one in three (30 percent) believes that apps will replace conventional therapies in certain cases in the future.

Electronic patient record

The electronic patient record (EPA) will be available on January 1, 2021 and will in all likelihood meet with great interest: 73 percent would use the EPA. For 64 percent of those interested in using it, it is important that data sovereignty lies with the insured and only the patient decides which doctor is allowed to see which data. Almost as many (63 percent) name data protection and data security as the most important issues. Ease of use is particularly important to almost every third person (31 percent).

Electronic prescription

The electronic prescription will also be introduced in Germany in 2021, which can then be redeemed via the smartphone app in the pharmacy of your choice. Two thirds (66 percent) can imagine using it. For 16 to 29 year olds it is 70 percent, 64 percent for 30 to 49 year olds, 69 percent for 50 to 64 year olds and 62 percent for over 65 year olds.

Artificial intelligence

Evaluating radiological images, identifying tumors, individually adapting cancer therapies: Artificial intelligence (AI) has enormous potential in medicine. More and more patients share this knowledge: 44 percent say they would regularly get a second opinion from an artificial intelligence in the future – in 2019 it was 31 percent. 45 percent even believe that doctors should always have their diagnosis checked by an AI (2019: 39 percent). Overall, many patients see artificial intelligence primarily as an effective support: 64 percent believe that doctors would have more time for their patients. 58 percent are even of the opinion that computer programs with artificial intelligence analyze X-ray images faster than doctors and should therefore relieve them of this task over the long term.

Photo: pexels.com

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