The announcement comes almost a year after the German government passed the Digital Health Act (DVG).
In October, DVG officially approved the use of two medical applications for healthcare professionals. Officially doctors in Germany have permission to prescribe medical applications to their patients. In this way, Germany marks a milestone thanks to DVG, as they become the first country to get doctors to prescribe medical applications to their patients as part of their treatment.
Only applications that are part of the Digital Health Applications directory will achieve accreditation so that physicians can prescribe the use of these tools, the procedure consists of clinical tests led by the Federal Institute of Medicines and Devices Mexico (BfArM).
The first two approved applications are Kalmeda and Velibra. Kalmeda is an application designed for the treatment of tinnitus (ear ringing) through behavioral therapy. It has a structured program that includes relaxation exercises through background sounds and additional information about the condition. Behavioral therapy consists of several months, the number depends on the patients. However, it specifies that there are five levels of nine stages each, which helps patients deal with and reduce ringing in ears.
Kalmeda may be prescribed by doctors or psychotherapists over the age of 18, as specified on the BfArM site and is available through the App Store for iOS devices and in the Play Store for Android devices.
The other authorized application, Velibra is a web platform-based tool, which specializes in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia and social anxiety disorder. The app offers cognitive behavioral therapy exercises for patients at least 18 years of age. The application was tested through a clinical study involving 139 patients, with one of the conditions mentioned above. The study showed that Velibra was effective as patients who took treatment with professional and platform, suffered from fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, than those who performed their treatment only with a general doctor.
Through these first two applications, health authorities in Germany hope to approve more medical applications and improve patient-centered digital medical care.
