Data, facts and instruments on the German health system
What it’s all about
Digitisation in the outpatient sector continues to be slow, mainly due to a limiting definition on the physician side. Medical associations talk about digitalisation, but mainly refer to the telematics infrastructure (TI) and some accompanying aspects such as digital anamnesis and DTx.
Examples show what digitisation can do
Compared to the existing solution offerings on the market, the TI represents only a tiny fraction. If this narrow focus is maintained, the medical profession will not succeed in shaping real digitalisation and using it for their work.
Promising examples of solutions already available are voice assistants and online appointment systems. These enable GP and specialist practices to overcome the often lack of availability by telephone. This problem is not only a frequent point of criticism in patient surveys, but also has a negative impact on practice staff in the form of hectic, stress and unnecessary time strain due to the constant ringing of the phones. The introduction of digital systems, on the other hand, enables asynchronous communication, improves the quality of communication and increases the effectiveness, efficiency and productivity of daily work.
Digitisation barrier “practice management insufficiency”
Of course, there are also practice owners who are not influenced by a purely TI-focused mindset. However, there are currently still too few of them to convince their colleagues of the actually realisable benefits of automated administration and intensified patient interaction. Their practices are characterised by the fact that they fulfil the elementary prerequisite of successful digitisation: a smoothly functioning practice management. After all, digital solutions can only unfold their benefits if they are combined with intact working systems. However, outpatient medicine is characterised by a profound practice management insufficiency: in medical practices, barely half of the regulations that are essential for work to run smoothly even under changing demands are used.
Free publication with further information
How doctors can eliminate this problem both acutely to increase their quality of work and in the medium term for digitalisation is described in the publication: “Benchmarking practice management for general practitioners and specialists – method, application and benefits”. Interested practice owners can request the 60-page publication in PDF format free of charge by sending an e-mail to post@ifabs.de, stating their practice address.
R2049 