4/28/2023
Digitalisation
News
DGIM working group presents concept for DiGA explanatory videos
Digital health applications (DiGA) may become an important component of modern health care and meaningfully complement medical treatment. But how can the manufacturers of the "apps on prescription" communicate their products' content, functions, and concrete application to doctors in a compact and targeted manner? In a recent publication, the DiGA/KI working group in Guidelines of the German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM) proposes a concept for explanatory videos with uniform content. These present the structure and set-up of a DiGA in individual modules and address specific questions about the respective product.
Science and the eHealth industry have been discussing digital health applications for a long time and the first DiGAs have been available for prescription to statutorily insured persons since September 2020. "Nevertheless, when using an app or other digital applications, the principles of therapy and effectiveness are not always immediately apparent to many doctors," notes Martin Möckel, Chairman of the DiGA/KI in Guidelines. In the opinion of the DGIM-AG, the need for information that prescribers have about DiGA can best be met with uniformly structured explanatory videos. A short video can demonstrate the exact handling of the app and can also be watched again if necessary. Möckel thus explains the additional advantage of a video, for example, compared to time-limited test access.
In a current publication, the DiGA experts of the working group have worked out suggestions for manufacturers on how the videos should be structured and what content they should cover. "In order for prescribers to be able to access the videos as quickly as possible, it would make sense to structure them uniformly according to thematically structured modules," Möckel describes a basic criterion. These modules should individually address questions about the type of DiGA and the indication, the active principle and its scientific evidence, the role of the application in the patient journey as well as the effort required on the part of the prescriber. Additional written support material for reference should complement the graphic explanation in the video.
"Just as with drug therapies, doctors need to know the area of application and contraindication, understand exactly how a DiGA works and how it works, and have an idea of how its effectiveness is scientifically proven," says Möckel. "The better we, as those who prescribe the DiGA, are informed about the intended use in the everyday life of our patients as well as about our tasks as prescribers, the more efficiently and purposefully we can use them in everyday care," adds DGIM Chairman Ulf Müller-Ladner.
In a current publication, the DiGA experts of the working group have worked out suggestions for manufacturers on how the videos should be structured and what content they should cover. "In order for prescribers to be able to access the videos as quickly as possible, it would make sense to structure them uniformly according to thematically structured modules," Möckel describes a basic criterion. These modules should individually address questions about the type of DiGA and the indication, the active principle and its scientific evidence, the role of the application in the patient journey as well as the effort required on the part of the prescriber. Additional written support material for reference should complement the graphic explanation in the video.
"Just as with drug therapies, doctors need to know the area of application and contraindication, understand exactly how a DiGA works and how it works, and have an idea of how its effectiveness is scientifically proven," says Möckel. "The better we, as those who prescribe the DiGA, are informed about the intended use in the everyday life of our patients as well as about our tasks as prescribers, the more efficiently and purposefully we can use them in everyday care," adds DGIM Chairman Ulf Müller-Ladner.
