20 Key Points from the German Federal Ministry of Health Digitalisation Strategy 2026
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Germany’s Federal Ministry of Health has set out a consolidated Digitalisation Strategy for Health and Care that runs through 2026, with concrete targets around electronic patient records, telemedicine access, paperless communication and secondary use of health data.
Strategic Vision and Goals
2030 Vision: The goal is to transform the healthcare system into a person-centered, digitally supported ecosystem by 2030 to enable healthier and longer lives for all.
Core Objectives: The strategy remains focused on patient sovereignty, improving quality of care, and increasing economic efficiency through digital transformation.
Three Action Fields: Efforts are organized into three areas: establishing cross-sector care processes, using high-quality data for research and care, and deploying benefit-oriented technologies.
Integration of AI and Europe: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and European integration (EHDS) are treated as cross-cutting themes integrated across all action fields.
Key Targets and Milestones
Electronic Patient Record (ePA): By 2030, at least 20 million insured persons should be actively using the ePA, benefiting from at least seven specific use cases based on structured data.
Digital Medical Letters: The goal is for 100% of medical letters to be transmitted electronically between healthcare providers by the end of 2027.
Research Data: At least 300 research projects are expected to be initiated or conducted using data from the Health Research Data Center (FDZ) by the end of 2026.
Hospital Digital Maturity: The digital maturity of hospitals is targeted to increase by an average of more than 35% compared to the 2021 baseline.
Healthcare Processes and Care
Digital First: The guiding principle is "digital before outpatient before inpatient," prioritizing digital workflows wherever they offer equal or better performance.
Telemedicine Expansion: Telemedicine is viewed as a vital instrument, with plans to expand digital appointment booking and secure mobile access to the Telematics Infrastructure (TI).
Digital Care Navigation: Inspired by international models, the strategy aims to use digital platforms for initial assessments and symptom checking to guide patients to the appropriate level of care.
Nursing Care Support: A "Nursing Cockpit" (Pflege-Cockpit) will be established to provide a central digital location for managing care, applications, and information for those requiring nursing services.
Data Usage and Research
European Health Data Space (EHDS): Germany aims to play a leading role in shaping the EHDS to enable secure cross-border data exchange for care and research within the EU.
Structured Data Standards: To move away from data silos, the ministry is enforcing international interoperability standards (like FHIR) to ensure data is captured in a structured, reusable format.
Health Research Data Center (FDZ): The FDZ, opened in October 2025, serves as the central hub for providing data from approximately 74.5 million insured persons for innovation while maintaining strict data protection.
AI Training Data: The FDZ will be expanded to be "AI-capable," providing quality-assured, representative datasets specifically for training and testing AI models in healthcare.
Technology and Infrastructure
TI 2.0 Evolution: The Telematics Infrastructure is being modernized into "TI 2.0" to reduce complexity, improve stability, and ensure high performance for all users.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI is being integrated to automate documentation, improve diagnostic accuracy (e.g., in mammography screening), and provide personalized health recommendations.
Cybersecurity: A "Cybersecurity Instant Program" will be implemented to increase the IT security of critical healthcare infrastructures, particularly in acute care.
Digital Identities: The "HealthID" (GesundheitsID) will become the user-friendly identity standard for all digital health services, aligned with European digital wallet standards.
Implications for stakeholders
Providers: Need to adopt interoperable systems, integrate ePA/e‑prescriptions, redesign workflows for digital‑first processes and expand telemedicine offerings beyond previous volume limits.
Patients: Gain broader access to telemedicine, a longitudinal ePA and more seamless digital communication, while retaining informational self‑determination over data use.
Industry and researchers: Benefit from clearer rules and infrastructure for health‑data access via the FDZ and related frameworks, opening opportunities for AI, digital therapeutics and data‑driven innovation using German health datasets.