Digital competence is becoming a daily tool for doctors

Berlin - Knowledge about the opportunities and risks of digital applications will be just as essential for doctors in the future as knowledge about drugs. This became clear at a conference of the Standing Committee of European Doctors (French: Comite Permanent des Medecins Europeens, CPME).

Unfortunately, the discussion about digital medicine is too often reduced to purely technical aspects. It is at least as important to talk about the ethical limits and the future role of doctors in digital health care, ”said Klaus Reinhardt, President of the German Medical Association, in his opening address

"Digitization is increasingly a reality in health systems across Europe," said CPME President Frank Ulrich Montgomery. It must therefore be ensured that it is "responsible, positive and well thought out".

As with drugs, it is essential that doctors have at least a rough idea of ​​how it works, the expected result and the possible risks of digital applications.

They would need that in order to be able to take responsibility for the treatment with digital aids. Medical associations and associations of statutory health insurance physicians should offer more advanced training courses on digital applications, advised Montgomery.

The correct handling of programs that could support decision-making through artificial intelligence (AI), for example, must also become an integral part of medical training, warned Lina Mosch from the European Medical Students' Association (EMSA).

The patient commissioner of the federal government, Claudia Schmidke (CDU), emphasized how important it is that patients trust the digital innovations. This must always remain voluntary and should not lead to disadvantages in treatment for patients who refuse digital medicine.