The umbrella association of statutory health insurance companies is planning a new measure to combat overcrowded doctor’s practices. An app should be made mandatory before even seeing a doctor.
Apps are the hottest topic in healthcare. But with E-prescription and electronic patient records it’s not done. Statutory health insurance companies are aiming to introduce a digital navigation tool.
In certain cases, patients should receive referrals to a specialist even without contact with a doctor. This is what the vice-chairwoman of the umbrella association of statutory health insurance companies (GKV), Stefanie Stoff-Ahnis, told the editorial network Germany (RND).
An app should be central to this. Alternatively, contact should also be possible by telephone on 116117. Although it is not clear from the concept, the 116117 is already available as an app for Android and iOS.
New concept with mandatory app
After Information from the RND the health insurance companies have presented a corresponding concept for their plans. The use of the navigation tool should be mandatory before even visiting a doctor’s office. Access to the tool should be possible via an app on the smartphone or by telephone via the statutory health insurance hotline 116117.
The App 116117 has been around for a long time and, among other things, it also contains a so-called Patient navigation. Patients have to answer a questionnaire after entering their zip code. It is designed as a chat and asks various points for self-assessment.
The patient navigation system first creates a recommendation for action that states how urgent it is to see a doctor. You can then search for the right doctor in your area. This is where the previous functions of the app end.
It would be conceivable that the existing app could be expanded to include functions, for example to handle follow-up prescriptions or specialist referrals directly.
From the perspective of the insured, the tool becomes an important first point of contact in the healthcare system, according to the health insurance company’s concept.
“There will certainly be certain care processes in the future that can be handled purely digitally, without any medical contact being necessary,” said Stoff-Ahnis. “We need modern, digitally supported primary care.”
Like most demands, the requirement to use an app before contacting a doctor is controversial. The 116177 is also an instrument of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, so it does not belong to the health insurance companies. They could of course develop a new app.
What gives the idea additional explosiveness: The assessment through the app should not only take place through structured questions, but also through the use of data from the electronic patient file.
At the end there should be a recommendation as to whether you should go to your family doctor, go to an emergency room, take part in a video consultation or receive a referral to a specialist straight away.
The health insurance association’s proposal speaks of a neutral and transparent appointment platform. “This is finally no longer about the question of whether someone is legally or privately insured, but simply about medical necessity,” said Stoff-Ahnis.
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