Digitalisation in Healthcare: Speed Isn’t Everything
At a panel discussion at DMEA in Berlin, representatives from insurers, medical self-governing bodies, hospitals and politics discussed digitalisation amid tensions between speed and quality.
Image: Messe Berlin
By setting statutory deadlines, policymakers are driving the pace of digitalisation projects. But does time pressure also lead to good results? KBV board member Dr Sibylle Steiner described outpatient care as the best-digitalised sector in the healthcare system. E-prescriptions and the electronic certificate of incapacity for work (eAU) have now become part of everyday practice.
Nevertheless, the technology often fails to keep pace with the care structure. Problems with an unstable telematics infrastructure and media breaks are placing a strain on GPs. She also lamented the hurdles involved in switching providers of practice management systems (PVS) and hopes that manufacturers’ commitments to interoperable solutions can counteract this. In her view, digital applications must function well rather than quickly. Pilot phases, such as those for the electronic patient record, are useful for rolling out mature solutions on a large scale.
Hospitals must be involved
Prof. Dr Henriette Neumeyer would like hospitals to be involved in digitalisation decisions at an early stage and not treated as “large practices”. The processes are more complex than in outpatient care, which is why a dedicated solution is needed.
She would like to see better communication with hospitals and sees potential in this regard with the ePA. She also views the increasing digitalisation of hospitals as an opportunity to scrutinise reporting and internal processes: Which data is truly important and what can be dispensed with?
Dr Martin Krasney from the GKV-Spitzenverband views deadlines as a positive guide. At the same time, medical self-governance requires freedom and flexible solutions. Too much perfectionism leads to solutions being talked to death. He sees the next important step as making the ePA ‘AI-ready’. Health insurance funds are already using the technology for claims processing and would like to use it for data analysis in future.
Developing shared visions
Sebastian Zilch defended his ministry’s ambitious timelines. He said that functioning mechanisms had been developed to respond to challenges in practice. In his view, the timetables must be ambitious, whilst at the same time the applications must work. A shared vision of the digital strategy is needed, one that is supported by all stakeholders.