Study: How digital is the German healthcare system?

September 23, 2020

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The video consultation, the digital medical file and the e-prescription: digital technologies improve patient care and relieve the medical staff. However, there is still room for improvement when it comes to application. Nevertheless, the new virus has had a noticeable effect as a digitization accelerator in 40 percent of medical facilities. This is the result of a recent study by Deloitte, for which medical personnel in seven European countries were surveyed. 

Even regardless of the corona pandemic, the need for digital technologies in the healthcare sector remains high. Although digital applications are already being used in a wide variety of places, in comparison with other European countries only a few German hospitals achieve the highest levels of the maturity model of the non-profit organization HIMSS. 86 percent of the German study participants have great confidence in digital technologies and are convinced that they can continue to improve patient care.

Digital medical records are the most popular in Germany

Digital technologies are currently used in German medical operations, primarily for administrative tasks. First and foremost the digital patient file, which is used by three quarters of the respondents. 78 percent see advantages for efficient work and good patient care in this. In addition, digital duty rosters (52 percent) and specific applications for hospital staff (44 percent) are used in many places and also rated positively with regard to care.

Telemedicine has not yet exhausted its potential

A contrasting picture emerges in telemedicine, i.e. technologies for caring for patients via telephone and video chat. Only 30 percent of medical staff use this technology. However, more than twice as many respondents (64 percent) see an advantage for patient care. There is a similar discrepancy with online appointment booking options: only 38 percent of facilities currently use such a system, although 63 percent of medical staff see it as having great advantages for patient care. The Netherlands, Denmark and the UK are already one step further: telemedicine and online appointment bookings, as well as online prescriptions, are already part of everyday life for two thirds of those surveyed.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR), which are currently much discussed, are only used very sporadically across Europe. In the German healthcare system, 7 percent of medical staff use AI and 4 percent use VR. After all, a third of those surveyed believe that these technologies could bring benefits to patient care. However, just as many respondents are unsure of more advanced technologies, including genomic data and robotics.

Barriers to using digital technologies

Before new technologies are introduced, organizational hurdles in the German health system must be overcome. Medical staff are faced with bureaucracy (61 percent), high costs (57 percent) and difficulties in finding the right technology (42 percent). For a good half of the respondents, there is still a need for support (46 percent) and information (41 percent). Because digitization also means a change in culture. To achieve this, technologies have to be more closely integrated into everyday work and all medical staff have to be trained more intensively.

Hospital Future Act accelerates digitization

According to an estimate of 54 percent of those surveyed, it will take a maximum of five years for the healthcare system to be fully digitalized. 38 percent state that the time horizon will be closer to eight to ten years. The four billion euro investment program by the federal and state governments as part of the Hospital Future Act should, however, act as a digitization accelerator in German hospitals.

About the study

For the study “Shaping the future of European healthcare”, medical personnel in a total of seven European countries were surveyed (N = 1,781). In Germany, the assessments of 400 general practitioners, specialists and surgeons as well as nurses were recorded at various levels of experience. Most of the respondents work in private (47 percent) and public (43 percent) hospitals, day clinics or practices.

Photo: pexels.com

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