Removing Dust From the German Health Care System by Introducing Health Apps Into Standard Care: Semistructured Interview Study

BACKGROUND: In 2019, Germany launched the Digital Healthcare Act. The reform enables physicians to prescribe health apps as treatments to their statutory-insured patients. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the extent to which the integration of health apps into standard care could be considered beneficial and which aspects of the regulation could still be improved. METHODS: We conducted a semistructured interview study with 23 stakeholders in Germany and analyzed them thematically. We used descriptive coding for the first-order codes and pattern coding for the second-order codes. RESULTS: We created 79 first-order codes and 9 second-order codes following the interview study. Most stakeholders argued that the option of prescribing health apps could improve treatment quality. CONCLUSIONS: The inclusion of health apps into German standard care could improve the quality of treatment by expanding treatment portfolios. The educational elements of the apps might additionally lead to more patient emancipation through a better understanding of personal conditions. Location and time flexibility are the biggest advantages of the new technologies, but they also raise the most significant concerns for stakeholders because app use requires personal initiative and self-motivation. Overall, stakeholders agree that the Digital Healthcare Act has the potential to remove dust from the German health care system.