What is a positive supply effect of a DiGA?

The so-called positive care effect of a DiGA means that patients who use it should observe a positive effect.

A distinction is made between the medical benefit and the patient-relevant structural and procedural improvements. Workload or economic indicators are not endpoints that can be selected.

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Medical benefit should:

- be relevant to the patient,

- reduce the number of cases of illness or the complaints and complications of illnesses (state of health, duration of illness),

- reduce mortality or

- improve the quality of life.

Patient-relevant structural and procedural improvements should show that:

- treatment processes can be better coordinated,

- Treatments should be better aligned with guidelines and recognized standards,

- the recommendations of doctors or therapists are better implemented,

- making it easier for people to receive medical care,

- patient safety is increased,

- health literacy as well as the ability to understand, find, evaluate or apply information in everyday life,

- patient sovereignty is improved, i.e. the ability to shape one's own conditions in such a way that one's own health is established and illness can be lived,

- difficulties caused by illness can be better managed in everyday life or

- The aim is to reduce therapy-related expenses and burdens for patients and their relatives.

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For this purpose, own data on the respective DiGA must be shown and that the use of the DiGA is more efficient compared to standard therapy. No data from the literature can be used for this proof.

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The advantage should be to improve everyday and individual healthcare, to involve patients in the processes of service provision and to shape their contributions to therapy in a targeted manner.