(de-news.net) – In an effort to reduce the overall volume of physician visits, Germany’s statutory health insurers are advocating the mandatory introduction of a digital patient navigation tool that would enable selected healthcare services to be delivered without prior contact with a medical practice. As outlined in a concept paper prepared by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds and cited by multiple media outlets, the proposed system would allow prescriptions, referrals to specialist care, and, in defined cases, follow-up prescriptions for well-controlled chronic patients to be issued digitally following a structured and standardized assessment. Access to the navigation tool would be provided either via telephone or through a dedicated smartphone application, and its use would be required as an initial step before any face-to-face medical consultation takes place.

Within the broader policy debate on improving patient steering and resource allocation in the healthcare system, the insurers argue that the digital navigator should function as the primary entry point for insured individuals. Drawing on standardized questionnaires and data from electronic patient records, the system would assess the urgency of medical needs and guide patients toward appropriate care pathways, including video consultations, appointments with general practitioners, emergency services, or electronic referrals to specialists. The association has framed digitally supported primary care as a long-overdue structural reform, particularly against the backdrop of persistent workforce shortages and mounting financial pressures within the system, and has further connected the proposal to plans for establishing a neutral and transparent appointment platform. At the federal level, deliberations on the design of a future primary care model are set to continue, including consultations convened by the health minister with stakeholders from across the healthcare sector.