Digitalisation of Germany’s Healthcare System

By its own admission, Germany’s government has long lagged other countries in using digital tools to improve the country’s expensive and bureaucratic healthcare system. However, the 2023 Digitalisation Strategy for Health and Care, the Health Data Use Act, and other policy measures including electronic patient records (ePA) and mandatory e-prescriptions, aim to make the country’s healthcare system fit for the 21st century. Fresh from the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced healthcare providers to use technology to provide services remotely, the ongoing tech drive strives to improve care provision and efficiency and boost Germany’s attractiveness as a hub for medical research.

This Dods Political Intelligence report, produced by Vera Bibas and Tarik Oran from our German-language service, provides an update on Germany’s key legislative and policy efforts to use digital tools to modernise pharmaceutical research, healthcare delivery, and administration.