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Berlin (dpa) - In many medical practices in Germany, communication continues as it did before the triumphant advance of the Internet: the telephone is the most important channel for communication with patients (77 percent), pharmacies (61 percent) and practices (53 percent).
That is the result of a survey presented on Tuesday, which the digital association Bitkom carried out together with the medical association Hartmannbund among more than 500 doctors.
Around every fifth doctor (19 percent) maintains contact with doctors' practices predominantly by post, 22 percent rely primarily on faxes.
Only every 20th doctor communicates mainly via email with other practices, pharmacies or patients.
«I got rid of my fax a good 20 years ago because nothing happened anymore.
But it persists in the health sector, ”said Bitkom President Achim Berg.
There is still a great need for action in the medical profession.
It is much more reliable to transmit and process data digitally.
The error rate in manual data transfer is much too high.
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However, according to the survey, digitization is progressing within the practices and clinics: every second doctor creates medication plans mostly digitally.
A digital patient file is already in use at 66 percent.
Almost a third of the doctors surveyed still keep the files in the traditional way in cabinets or shelves.
There are big differences in the use of digital technologies in everyday medical practice: While doctors in clinics are mostly open to digital health offers, doctors in practices are more skeptical.
The overwhelming majority of clinic doctors (86 percent) see digitalization above all as opportunities for the healthcare system.
Only ten percent consider digitization to be a risk.
Among the practice doctors, only 53 percent emphasize the opportunities, 39 percent, however, the risk.
There is also a clear difference between doctors: 74 percent of women see digitization as an opportunity, but only 63 percent of men.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210202-99-267642 / 2