DiGA marketing: From physician engagement to prescribing

What DiGA marketing should achieve

For manufacturers, DiGA marketing means reaching relevant healthcare professionals with information they can assess: Who is the application for? Which care problem does it address? What evidence is available? How does it fit into practice?

DiGA sales organises the conversations, appointments and follow-up around that information. The clinical decision remains with the treating physician or psychotherapist. A commercial objective should therefore never cause the discussion to skip patient suitability, product scope or unresolved questions.

The broad description of an application on prescription can introduce the topic. A professional discussion needs more: precise information about the particular application and its intended use.

Which physicians and practices should you approach first?

Start with a reasoned audience selection. Specialty alone is too broad: two practices in the same specialty can have different patient populations and organisational processes. Previous engagement with the product also changes the appropriate opening.

For planning purposes, distinguish between three groups:

• Practices with no previous contact: Establish the relevance of the indication and the need for information.
• Previously informed practices: Build on known questions and identify any remaining practical barrier.
• Practices with application experience: Gather process feedback and assess further scientific or organisational support needs.

Five questions your product information needs to answer

A useful conversation guide provides concise answers and points to approved materials for detail. It should cover:

• Audience: Which patients and indication is the application intended for?
• Clinical context: What role does it play in care, and what are its limitations?
• Evidence: Which findings are supported, and which conclusions can actually be drawn?
• Process: Which steps belong to the practice, patient, insurer and manufacturer?
• Support: Who answers scientific, technical and organisational questions?

How does DiGA prescribing currently work?

Physicians and psychotherapists can prescribe suitable applications listed in Germany’s DiGA directory. Insured people can also apply directly to their health insurer. Prescribing uses form 16 or an electronic route where the practice software supports it. The insurer provides the code needed for access.

The relevant product identifier, intended duration and redemption instructions should therefore be available during a discussion. The KBV explains the current process; product-specific details should be checked in the DiGA directory.

Sources: KBV: DiGA prescribing and access · BfArM: DiGA directory

How to make follow-up useful

An initial conversation should produce an understandable outcome: the practice wants specific information, needs a scientific answer, requests an appointment or currently has no relevant need. These outcomes should be distinguishable in the record. A simple status of “informed” provides little direction.

Example: A practice knows the application but is unsure how patients obtain access. Instead of another general product presentation, the team supplies the requested process guide. An agreed follow-up establishes whether the question has been answered. The next useful action follows from that result.

Maintain a short record of recurring questions. If the same process is repeatedly misunderstood, improve the materials and conversation guide. Follow-up then informs marketing decisions as well as supporting the practice; it does more than repeat a message.

Which measures are useful for DiGA marketing?

Separate reach, conversation quality and use. The first level covers practices and suitable contacts reached. The second covers qualified conversations, specific information needs and agreed next steps.

Prescriptions and redeemed codes belong to a different level. Analyse these only where suitable, lawfully available data exists. A statement during a call is not evidence of redemption. A change following a campaign does not, by itself, demonstrate that the campaign caused it.

For ongoing improvement, reasons matter: limited relevance to the patient population, unanswered evidence questions, an unclear access process or a current capacity constraint. Each calls for a different response. A single “not interested” category hides these distinctions.

What belongs in the budget and provider assessment?

Budget for preparation as well as conversations: audience review, material checks, medical and product training, and the documentation setup. Add project management, quality review and the handling of outstanding questions.

Compare offers with the same scope. A low cost per contact is hard to evaluate when a contact is undefined or ownership of scientific follow-up is unclear. Ask the provider to explain a sample practice journey from the first conversation to a resolved question.

A defined initial project module can test audience assumptions and identify the barriers the team actually encounters. Use those findings to decide whether and how to expand reach.