Digital Economy
Digital Doctoring
Digital therapies for conditions ranging from back pain to diabetes to depression are a growth market in Germany. It’s the first country in the world to establish a regulatory framework requiring statutory health insurers to reimburse the costs of approved health apps.
Jun 30, 2026
Read this article to find out:
- Why Germany is Europe's most advanced market for prescription digital health apps
- Which conditions – from obesity to ADHD – are driving growth
- How international app makers can secure reimbursement from Germany's statutory health insurers
The big day for Vitadio came in 2022. That was when the Czech health-care company’s eponymous app, was approved as a digital medical device in Germany – a status confirmed by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM).
The app helps people with type 2 diabetes make lasting behavioral changes. Users log blood sugar levels, meals, and physical activity, and the app responds with personalized guidance and weekly targets. Vitadio is one of the first digital health applications – or DiGAs, as they’re known in Germany – accepted for reimbursement under statutory health insurance
The potential of such tools for monitoring conditions and supporting therapy is enormous. Germany has one of the largest populations of people living with type 2 diabetes in Europe – around 8.9m patients. And diabetes is not at all the only common ailment where digital therapeutics are making inroads.
Legislature in practice
It is no coincidence that digital health products are gaining ground so quickly in Germany. In 2019, the legislature created the framework that allowed manufacturers to apply to the BfArM have their health apps listed in the directory of digital health applications. As of Spring 2026, 59 DiGAs made the list.
“The DiGA framework created a unique opportunity to build a sustainable health-care business around real clinical outcomes.”
Jan Šomvársky, CEO Vitadio
Despite the conservatism of many German consumers, usage of the apps is climbing steadily. Since the program launched, doctors have issued a total of 1.9m DiGA prescriptions, and statutory health insurers have reimbursed around EUR 400m in costs. Roughly half of listed applications focus on mental health. Programs for metabolic diseases and musculoskeletal complaints – including back and knee pain – are also growing in importance.
For Julia Pietsch, health-care expert at Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), the numbers send a clear signal to international providers. “This development shows that digital therapies have arrived in clinical practice,” she says. “The market is growing rapidly and is open to innovative solutions for the health problems of our time.”
The clarity of the regulatory framework makes Germany not only an attractive market for providers like Vitadio, but also an ideal testing ground. It is one of the reasons the company maintains a branch in Berlin. For CEO Jan Šomvárský, Germany ranks among the most attractive markets for digital therapeutics in the world. “The DiGA framework created a unique opportunity to build a sustainable health-care business around real clinical outcomes,” he says.
FDI PERSPECTIVE: DiGA Market: Indications and Growth Areas
By Julia Pietsch, GTAI
For international providers of digital health apps, Germany's market is particularly attractive wherever a large patient population and digital scalability converge. Three indication areas currently dominate: metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety disorders, and musculoskeletal complaints such as back and joint pain.
Germany has one of the oldest populations in the world – and demographic change will impact the digital health market in the years ahead. Doctors and patients are becoming increasingly aware of apps targeting cardiovascular disease, chronic pain and cognitive impairment, which are widely seen as the next growth areas within the DiGA framework.
Further expansion is expected in digital care models for people with chronic conditions requiring sustained support throughout their treatment. Cross-indication applications are also gaining ground. Particularly promising are solutions that can be embedded in existing treatment pathways and telemonitoring structures – for example, applications that continuously collect patient health data, process it for clinical use and generate concrete recommendations for action.
Local expertise supports market entry
A cluster of specialist service providers has grown up around BfArM's DiGA approval process. Among them is QuickBird Medical, a Munich-based firm that develops digital health applications on behalf of international companies and guides them through the path to DiGA approval. One key requirement is a clinical study demonstrating the application's positive effect.
Malte Bucksch, co-founder and managing director of QuickBird Medical, has seen the same avoidable but recurring mistakes. “Many international companies underestimate how closely the clinical study and evidence strategy need to be aligned with the requirements of the approval process,” he says.
Bucksch's firm has already been involved in over 15 DiGA projects. One example is ORIKO, an app for ADHD patients, which saw QuickBird Medical acting as the software development partner for Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda and Swiss firm MindNet.
Both companies strategically selected Germany for their entry market into the EU. The size and financial strength of the German health-care system here offers attractive revenue potential, Bucksch explains, and the approval process is considerably more transparent than in many other countries.
Using established sales channels
Once an application has received DiGA approval, the provider can tap into existing sales structures in the German market – saving both time and money. For Šomvárský at Vitadio, this made all the difference.
“Germany's health-care system is complex, so strong local partnerships are essential for successful implementation and patient adoption,” he says. Vitadio works with pharmacies, health-care providers, and digital health stakeholders – an approach that has accelerated awareness of digital therapies among physicians.
Internationally active companies can also draw on a network of associations and clusters in Germany. A key point of contact is the German Association for Digital Health Care, which connects companies and stakeholders across the entire digital value chain through its working groups. International companies can engage early and represent their interests directly.
Many manufacturers are also active in regional digital health clusters. Berlin, Hamburg and Bavaria in particular are home to some of Germany's leading hubs, where start-ups, hospitals, investors and established health-care companies converge. For new market entrants, the cluster ecosystem creates shortcuts to the right partners and direct access to the wider market for digital health in Germany.
Europe's reference market
Germany is a highly attractive market in its own right, but it can also be a springboard. Many countries are watching Germany's DiGA model closely and borrowing from it. A successful market entry in Germany is therefore respected well beyond German national borders.
GTAI's Pietsch spells out the logic: “If a product has successfully passed through the German DiGA system – with its stringent requirements on data protection, IT security, and clinical evidence – it can be transferred to other European countries far more easily.”
For international manufacturers of digital therapeutics, that makes Germany not just a destination, but a gateway.
Want to bring your digital therapeutics to the German market?
Julia Pietsch
GTAI’s Digital Health Expert
