According to the study by McKinsey, ongoing technical problems in general practitioner practices pose a challenge for the implementation of e-prescriptions. picture alliance/dpa | Mohssen Assanimoghaddam
Since January 2024, almost half of all prescriptions have been issued electronically, according to McKinsey’s “E-Health Monitor”.
Despite the strong start of the e-prescription, there is criticism from the medical profession: There are too often technical problems in practices.
The E-Health Monitor also emphasizes the savings potential through “telemonitoring” in the healthcare system and the positive developments in healthcare apps.
Digitalization in the German healthcare system continues to progress – since January 2024, prescriptions from doctors have had to be issued electronically. Despite some teething problems, almost half of all prescriptions are already issued electronically. That’s a total of 22 million prescriptions this year, according to McKinsey’s “E-Health Monitor”. “Handelsblatt” previously reported.
The McKinsey study analyzes the digitalization of the healthcare system using 30 indicators. These include, for example, the degree of digitalization of hospitals or the acceptance of electronic solutions among the population. According to study author and McKinsey partner Tobias Silberzahn, the e-health monitor shows that digitalization is progressing slowly, but is bringing with it positive effects and significant cost savings.
According to “Handelsblatt”, Silberzahn sees the “really strong start” of electronic prescriptions as an important step in Health Minister Karl Lauterbach’s digitalization strategy. But there is also criticism – and it comes from the medical profession.
Doctors complain about technical problems
According to the study by McKinsey, ongoing technical problems in general practitioner practices pose a challenge for the implementation of e-prescriptions. 69 percent of practices struggle weekly or even daily with the telematics infrastructure that is necessary for data exchange in healthcare.
What is the telematics infrastructure?
The telematics infrastructure (TI) can be imagined as the healthcare information highway. It enables fast and secure communication between doctors, therapists, hospitals and others. You currently need so-called TI connectors — small boxes that are comparable to a DSL router — to gain access to the telematics infrastructure.
Nicola Buhlinger-Göpfarth, chairwoman of the general practitioners’ association, also complains that an update of the necessary hardware could “quickly paralyze a large part of the practice’s digital structure.” You would then be forced to resort to pen and paper. She therefore does not see the start of the e-prescription as a success, but rather as a sign of problems in the digitalization of the healthcare system.
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According to Handelsblatt, she also complains that electronically signing the e-prescription takes around 15 seconds. This is “simply nonsense in a mass application”.
Possible savings through digitalization
The E-Health Monitor also mentions that large savings in the healthcare system could be achieved through “telemonitoring”. In telemonitoring, the treatment of chronically ill patients is moved into the home environment using software and special devices. Instead of spending several weeks or months in the hospital, this time can be “reduced to one or two weeks,” says Silberzahn.
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Politicians are aware of this potential. The recently passed digital law therefore enables data from fitness watches and trackers to be stored in the electronic patient file in the future. Insurance companies could then integrate this data into special programs for their chronically ill patients.
Developments in health apps and prescription software are also positive. This means that the costs for these applications can be covered by health insurance companies. According to the E-Health Report, the number of digital health applications will have doubled to around 235,000 by 2023, with a market volume of around 125 million euros.