“Digital transformation” sounds like a major project. For a practice it consists of individual processes: prescriptions, patient records, appointments, phone, billing. Some are required by law, others are optional. This article separates the two, suggests a sensible order and lists the rules that apply to any new software. It describes the legal situation for practices in Germany. As of: 20 October 2026.
Which digital applications are mandatory for medical practices in Germany?
Two applications of the German telematics infrastructure are binding for doctors' practices. Since 1 January 2024, all doctors must use the e-prescription (E-Rezept) for prescription-only medicines charged to statutory health insurance; narcotics, among others, are excluded (source: gematik, gematik.de, retrieved 20 October 2026). Since 1 October 2025, all healthcare providers must use the electronic patient record (“ePA für alle”) and fill it with the data required by law, such as findings and doctors' letters (source: Federal Ministry of Health, Die ePA für alle, retrieved 20 October 2026). Other health professions, such as physiotherapy, have their own rules and deadlines; the information published by gematik for each professional group is authoritative.
What else can a practice digitalise?
Beyond the mandatory applications, a practice can choose to convert further processes:
- Phone and call handling: calls are answered even when nobody is free at reception, and requests reach the team in an orderly way.
- Appointments: patients book online or by phone into slots the practice calendar actually offers.
- Reminders and cancellations: appointments are confirmed in advance, cancellations arrive earlier and the slot can be reassigned.
- Repeat prescription and referral requests: the request is recorded and passed to the team for review; the decision stays with the practice.
- Administration: contacts, quotes for self-pay services, invoices and the hand-over to the tax adviser.
Where should a practice start?
With the process that interrupts the team most often. A simple tally sheet over one week shows which one it is: how often does the phone ring, what is it about, how often does someone have to interrupt a treatment or a conversation for it? Only then is it worth choosing software. Practices that work the other way round often digitalise a process that does not actually get in the way.
It makes sense to convert one process at a time, let it run for a few weeks and then decide whether the next one follows. Mandatory applications such as the e-prescription and the ePA take priority because their deadlines are fixed.
Which rules apply when a practice introduces new software?
Three sets of rules are almost always involved:
- General Data Protection Regulation: health data is a special category of data under Article 9. If a provider processes data on behalf of the practice, a data processing agreement under Article 28 is required.
- Professional secrecy under Section 203 of the German Criminal Code (StGB): external service providers may only learn patient secrets as far as necessary for their contribution, and the practice must oblige them to confidentiality (Section 203(3) and (4) StGB).
- The EU AI Act, if the software uses AI: since 2 February 2025, providers and deployers of AI systems must ensure that their staff have a sufficient level of AI literacy (Article 4 in conjunction with Article 113 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689). If an AI talks directly to patients, it must disclose that it is an AI since 2 August 2026 (Article 50).
What this means for an AI phone assistant is described in the article Automated patient communication by phone. The rules for medical AI are covered in AI in healthcare.
How does a practice measure whether a change has paid off?
By deciding before the start how success will be recognised and writing down the starting value. Suitable measures are ones the practice can count itself: the number of calls per day and how many were completed, the number of interruptions during treatment, the number of short-notice cancellations and how many of those slots were reassigned. After a few weeks the same value is counted again. Vendor claims about savings do not replace this own measurement.
What does mediOne cover when a practice goes digital?
mediOne is the practice edition of voiceOne for medical practices and physiotherapy practices. It covers phone and organisation, not the mandatory applications of the telematics infrastructure. The AI phone assistant answers calls on its own phone numbers, introduces itself as an AI at the start, gives information, books appointments in Google, Outlook, CalDAV or eTermin calendars, records prescription and referral requests for the team to review and transfers calls when needed. Contacts are kept in the CRM; quotes, invoices and the DATEV export run in the same system.
You can hear how it sounds: on +49 951 16092950 the voiceOne assistant answers, in German or English.
Summary
For doctors' practices in Germany, the e-prescription (since 1 January 2024) and the ePA (mandatory use since 1 October 2025) are binding. Everything else is optional and should start with the process that interrupts the team most often. Any new software is subject to the GDPR and professional secrecy, AI additionally to the AI Act. Only the practice's own before-and-after measurement shows whether a change has paid off.
Sources
All sources retrieved on 20 October 2026.
- gematik GmbH, E-Rezept, gematik.de
- Federal Ministry of Health, Die ePA für alle, bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Section 203 German Criminal Code (StGB), German original: gesetze-im-internet.de; English translation: gesetze-im-internet.de
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), Article 4, Article 50 and Article 113; official text: eur-lex.europa.eu
- General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Articles 9 and 28, eur-lex.europa.eu
AI textThis article was created with the support of AI. voiceOne editorial team · published on 25 May 2026 · updated on 20 October 2026.