DiGA in Primary Care and the Influence of Patient-Related Factors - Results of a Survey of Family Doctors.

Abstract

In 2019, the Digital Healthcare Act created the legal basis for prescribable mobile health applications, referred to as DiGA (in German: Digitale Gesundheitsanwendungen), as a novel healthcare delivery option in Germany [1, 2]. The aim of this study is to analyze the use of DiGA in primary care, focusing on the influence of socio-demographic characteristics of family doctors (FDs) and patient-related factors. Pen-and-paper survey among 97 FDs in the district of Giessen, Hesse, Germany. 59.4% of surveyed FDs have already prescribed DiGA. The age and digital affinity of FDs as well as the location of their practice are significantly correlated with the level of information and willingness to use DiGA. Male und younger FDs rate their digital affinity higher. When deciding whether to prescribe DiGA, 72.9% of surveyed physicians take patient-related factors such as digital affinity, motivation, age and health literacy into consideration. Socio-demographic characteristics of FDs and patient-related factors have an influence on the use of DiGA.