The German Digital Healthcare Association (SVDGV) has issued a sobering interim assessment of the new e-prescription process for digital health applications: Rather than making access easier, it is actually hindering it. Only 14 percent of digitally prescribed DiGA are actually activated.
As a result, activation numbers will decline for the first time in 2026. Complicated authentication and media discontinuities cause many patients to abandon the redemption process before their treatment begins.
In addition, the association estimates that the new BSI data security requirements will exclude approximately 20 million people with public health insurance whose older smartphones do not meet the required operating system versions. This would particularly affect older people and those with lower incomes. Beyond the issue of access to care, the SVDGV warns of economic pressure on an innovation-driven industry that is supported by policymakers.
The association is calling for immediate corrective action in the ongoing GeDIG legislative process: a halt to the rollout, with paper printouts as a temporary measure; the elimination of the PIN requirement; redemption directly within the app; and secure access even on older devices. Its conclusion: A digital process that makes access more difficult rather than easier fails to serve its purpose.
Read the press release here: Press Release – Political Decisions Are Hindering Digital Health Care