Ep16: The Mind(s) Behind Germany’s Digital Health Care Act

During his conscripted service with the German Navy, Christian Dierks learned that if you’re the person in charge of rules and administration, you can bring about a lot of change. He took this lesson with him to law school and in the creation of his own law and healthcare consultancy firm, Dierks+Company. Christian was instrumental in the creation of Germany’s 2019 Digital Health Care Act (known as DVG in Germany), which mandates full reimbursement of any prescribed digital health application. In fact, Christian was involved in setting up the legal framework for digital health applications (DiGA) in Germany—and importantly, he convinced health insurers in Germany not to nickname them DiVA, an acronym which would have carried distinctly less gravitas. Starting with this episode, Eugene says farewell (for now) to DTx trailblazers in the United States, and shifts the focus to leaders in Europe, where Christian and other thought leaders are working to broaden access to digital health solutions. Eugene and Christian recorded this episode in January, and since then, there have been some exciting updates to the status of DVG. Namely, the list of approved digital therapies for reimbursement has grown to 13, and Germany is starting to publish early data on the impact of the measure. >>Click here to read the transcript Guest Links and Resources: Connect with Christian Dierks: LinkedIn | Twitter Visit Dierks+Company: LinkedIn | Website Host Links and Resources: Connect with Eugene Borukhovich: Twitter | LinkedIn Follow Eugene's journey of writing his first book: Hard Pill to Swallow Connect with YourCoach.health: Website | Twitter Subscribe to Exits & Outcomes Brian Dolan: Twitter | LinkedIn HealthXL: Website | Twitter | Join an Event Follow Digital Health Today: Browse Episodes | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Follow Health Podcast Network: Browse Shows | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Thank you to: Bayer G4A Cedars-Sinai Accelerator Takeda Roche