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  • npj Digital Medicine

Germany's Digital Health Reforms in the COVID-19 Era: Lessons and Opportunities for Other Countries

By: Sara Gerke, Ariel D. Stern and Timo Minssen
  • Format:Electronic
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Abstract

Reimbursement is a key challenge for many new digital health solutions, whose importance and value have been highlighted and expanded by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Germany’s new Digital Healthcare Act (Digitale–Versorgung–Gesetz or DVG) entitles all individuals covered by statutory health insurance to reimbursement for certain digital health applications (i.e., insurers will pay for their use). Since Germany, like the United States (U.S.), is a multi-payer health care system, the new Act provides a particularly interesting case study for U.S. policymakers. We first provide an overview of the new German DVG and outline the landscape for reimbursement of digital health solutions in the U.S, including recent changes to policies governing telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. We then discuss challenges and unanswered questions raised by the DVG, ranging from the limited scope of the Act to privacy issues. Lastly, we highlight early lessons and opportunities for other countries.

Keywords

COVID-19; Reimbursement; Digital Health Reforms; Health Pandemics; Health Care and Treatment; Internet and the Web; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Germany

Citation

Gerke, Sara, Ariel D. Stern, and Timo Minssen. "Germany's Digital Health Reforms in the COVID-19 Era: Lessons and Opportunities for Other Countries." Art. 94. npj Digital Medicine 3 (2020).
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About The Author

Ariel D. Stern

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

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More from the Authors
  • Hello Heart: The Next Generation of Chronic Disease Management Apps By: Ariel Dora Stern and Kumba Sennaar
  • Building the Business Case for an Inclusive Approach to Digital Health Measurement with a Web App (Market Opportunity Calculator): Instrument Development Study By: Mitchell Tang, Yashoda Sharma, Jennifer C. Goldsack and Ariel Dora Stern
  • Regulatory Submission Characteristics and Recalls of Medical Devices Receiving 510(k) Clearance By: Alexander O. Everhart, Yi Zhu and Ariel D. Stern
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