Many Saxons want to use digital health services

Digital services offered by doctors' surgeries and health insurance companies are meeting with increasing interest in Saxony. According to a recent Forsa survey commissioned by Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), 79 percent of respondents would take advantage of home visits by medical assistants or nurses with video support from a doctor. Three quarters (76%) of respondents would be happy for practices to offer online appointments. "Digitalization offers an incredible amount of potential to make our healthcare system more efficient," explained Alexander Krauß, head of TK in Saxony. Making appointments online and video consultations could relieve the burden on both doctors' surgeries and patients.

Klaus Heckemann, CEO of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Saxony (KVS), agrees: "Online appointments are a digital service that patients can use to make their appointments conveniently and flexibly, regardless of practice opening hours and free telephone lines. It also relieves the pressure on processes and capacities in practices." However, for technical reasons, not every practice is able to offer such an appointment system. Factors such as compatibility with the practice software or data protection precautions could make the smooth use of an appointment scheduling tool more difficult.

"Our conclusion is that a sensibly used and functioning digitalization as a supplement to direct contact with patients can relieve the burden on practice processes and thus create more time for patient care," said Heckemann.

Corona caused video consultations to skyrocket

In Saxony, doctors in private practice have been able to offer video consultations for their patients since 2019. According to the KVS, there were only just under 200 video consultations across Saxony in the first year. In 2020, the number rose to almost 54,000. In 2023, 56,000 video consultations were held. According to the Forsa survey, almost every second respondent in Saxony (52%) would use consultation hours where they can communicate with the doctor via a screen and microphone. This form of telemedical treatment is more popular among men (58 percent) than women (47 percent).

"Especially in less populated regions, this digital service could become a permanent and useful addition to medical care," emphasized Krauß. However, the survey results showed that in the large cities of Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, more respondents (64 percent) were in favor of video consultations than in cities with fewer than 70,000 inhabitants (46 percent).

Younger people are more open to using apps

46 percent of respondents could imagine using apps to treat ailments. Younger people in particular are more open to digital applications, it was reported. Among 18 to 39-year-olds, 63 percent would use health apps, almost twice as many respondents as in the 60+ age group (33 percent).

For the representative telephone survey commissioned by Techniker Krankenkasse, the opinion research institute Forsa interviewed 1,002 people aged 18 and over in June.