Digitalization of the healthcare system: guidelines must allow freedom

They said that laws are important to set policy direction, but they must leave room for interpretation and should not be too specific. Franz Knieps, chairman of the BKK umbrella organization, has been working in healthcare for more than 40 years. Among other things, he was involved in the founding of Gematik 20 years ago. At the time, Germany was at the forefront with the introduction of the health card as the start of a digitized healthcare system. Meanwhile, the German healthcare system is lagging behind not in comparison to other countries, but to other sectors in terms of digitization. Franz Knieps would have hoped for more speed at the time.

Dr. Florian Fuhrmann, CEO of Gematik, emphasized that, on the one hand, the structures introduced at the time still must be taken into account today and dependencies continue to exist. On the other hand, they would have relied on regulation instead of tackling structural problems. He hopes that the “game-changer digitization” will now be taken seriously by everyone. One way to overcome inertia, in his opinion, is to communicate openly with stakeholders, politicians and industry. Finding compromises is the order of the day, and the mood at Gematik is currently very positive.

Room for innovation

According to Franz Knieps, the healthcare system will only change if the level of suffering is great enough. Regulation is an opportunity if it remains abstract. The more specific detailed regulations become, the more time-consuming and innovation-inhibiting they become. A basic consensus combined with strong leadership from the health minister is essential to achieve change.

Florian Fuhrmann is also convinced that laws can leave room for maneuver. However, a high level of specification is needed on the technical side. Only in this way can interoperability be achieved. Both guests were skeptical about a digital ministry. According to Franz Knieps, unclear responsibilities could slow down the digitalization of the healthcare system. Florian Fuhrmann also fears that digitalization could lose momentum. He said that cooperation with the responsible departments at the Federal Ministry of Health was very good.

Patients in focus

According to Franz Knieps, the right things were decided at the right time under Federal Health Minister Prof. Dr. Karl Lauterbach. The e-prescription is a use case that people experience directly. There should be more of this. The next generation will be more demanding and will continue to push ahead with digitalization.

In the future, interdisciplinary teams at Gematik will focus even more on the patient journey, Florian Fuhrmann announced. The aim is to better understand and further improve it not only from a technical point of view, but also from the user's perspective.