Digitale Gesundheitsanwendungen im europäischen Vergleich

Digital applications have become an integral part of everyday life and are increasingly relevant in healthcare. In Austria, there are ongoing discussions whether some of these apps should become reimbursable by public health insurance. This report examines the definition of digital health applications, as well as the legal, technical, institutional and financial background for digital health apps in a selection of European countries. It also considers the regulatory characteristics of these applications and to which extent they are already included in public funding in the individual countries. Ultimately, the report presents conclusions regarding the inclusion of digital health applications into the pub-licly financed health system in Austria.
The report focuses on the framework in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, England, Estonia, France and the Netherlands. However, it should be noted that these frameworks are not yet fully developed and continue to undergo adjustments. In general, it can be observed that the decision-making and financing logic is based on the existing structures of the respective national system, resulting in different forms (centralised vs. decentralised de-cisions on remuneration; financing via fee for service vs. as part of a bundled payment). The regulatory structures also diverge in other ways, e. g. whether health apps are un-derstood as a distinct and new line of services or are to be included into the existing service categories. It is proposed that the incorporation of digital health applications into the publicly financed healthcare system should be used to reinforce existing objectives and help easing shortages.