Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – North Rhine-Westphalia’s Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) sees significant deficits in digitization in the German health system, which he says is a “sad event”. “I’ll be a member of the same health insurance company for 50 years in 2023. The only innovation of my insurance card that I’ve experienced is the passport photo,” said Laumann in an interview with the “Health and Society” magazine published by the AOK Federal Association.
The deficits in the digital sector relate, for example, to a lack of networking between specialist hospitals and clinics in the regions. According to Laumann, there are also too few teleconsultations – i.e. consultations with doctors using digital media. Hospitals and medical practices are highly digitized today. “However, the system is not digitized for the patient, and not across sectors either,” emphasized Laumann. “After all, we no longer have to transport radiology images in large folders,” added the NRW minister.
