Interesting facts
What is a digital nursing application (DiPA)?
Digital nursing applications (DiPA) open up a variety of possibilities to stabilise or improve the state of health of care recipients or to improve communication with relatives and care professionals. DiPA are thus "digital assistants" that can be used by care recipients or in the interaction of care recipients with relatives, other voluntary caregivers or outpatient nursing care facilities.
The requirements are defined in Section 40a of the German Social Code Book XI (SGB XI).
Legal basis: Digital Care and Nursing Modernisation Act (DVPMG) and Ordinance on the Eligibility for Reimbursement of Digital Nursing Applications (DiPAV)
With the Digital Care and Nursing Modernisation Act (DVPMG), digital nursing applications (DiPA) were introduced on June 9th 2021 in the Social Long-Term Care Insurance (Sections 40a, 40b of the German Social Code Book XI – SGB XI).
This means that approx. 4 million care recipients are entitled to be provided with DiPA. Upon application by the care recipient, the long-term care insurance fund decides on the necessity of providing the care recipient with a DiPA. If the long-term care insurance fund approves the provision of a DiPA, the care recipient is entitled to reimbursement of expenses for DiPA according to Section 40a SGB XI as well as to benefits for the use of supplementary support services of outpatient nursing care facilities according to Section 39a SGB XI up to a total amount of 50 euro per month.
The prerequisite for this is that DiPA have successfully passed an assessment of the BfArM and are listed in a newly created directory of reimbursable digital nursing applications (DiPA directory). In this directory, essential information about the DiPA and the complementary support services is summarised for care recipients, other users as well as long-term care insurance fund. This provides extensive transparency so that well-informed decisions can be made and trustworthy use is possible.
Details of this assessment and the DiPA directory will be regulated by a supplementary legal ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG), the Ordinance on the Eligibility for Reimbursement of Digital Nursing Applications (DiPAV).
Support and advice by BfArM
The BfArM offers advice on the prerequisites for listing in the DiPA directory in order to ensure comprehensive support for applicants and to provide them with early assistance in the preparing significant documents and data for inclusion in the directory. In a DiPA consultation, questions can be discussed that arise about individual products beyond the explanations in the guide on the part of the applicants as well as about procedural questions.
For planning reasons, advice meetings on DiPA procedures will initially take place Wednesday afternoons (except for public holidays) from 2:00 to 3:30 pm. Please take these time slots into account and indicate your preferred dates when applying for a DiPA consultation regarding the DiPA procedure. Requests are processed in the order in which they are received. Please send the filled out form stating the dates you prefer to: innovation@bfarm.de . Please find further relevant information to prepare a DiPA consultation in the guidance for applicants.