Use Cases for the Integration of digitalCross to Varying Degrees in the German Healthcare Experience
Use Case 1: Barebones
DigitalCross is a standalone App that a user downloads from the iOS App Store, Google Play Store, or views on a website.
The user is sick, opens the digitalCross app and clicks “find a doctor” from the main screen
The user fills in any symptoms and their severity.
digitalCross checks whether these symptoms match a known epidemic (coughing, fever, etc. for COVID-19). If yes, displays the current Hotline phone number to call.
If not, digitalCross checks that symptoms are not severe and recommends either a phone/video call or a Dr. appointment. Severe symptoms should always be referred to 112.
digitalCross asks if the user wants to see a doctor in person or perform a video call. The user is informed that prescriptions and an AU can be handed out in either case.
Depending on the choice above, the user either clicks a button to connect to a doctor via phone/video using an integrated tele-medecine service or the user is shown a map of the nearest clinic available to him.
The user can find pharmacies by clicking the “Pharmacy” button, which shows nearby pharmacies and their opening times.
Use Case 2: ePA integration, Clinic and Pharmacy Cooperation, and digital AU/Rezept.
digitalCross remains a standalone App that a user downloads from their relevant App Store or views on a website.
→ The user logs in to digitalCross. The user ID has been verified as belonging to a specific person and the user has agreed to link their elektronische Patientenakte (ePA) to digitalCross.
→ The user can manage their prescriptions via the digitalCross dashboard.
If they are sick, the user clicks “find a doctor”.
The user fills in any symptoms and their severities.
→ digitalCross compares symptoms, pre-existing conditions, and medications against data published by RKI or BGM to check whether the user is a suspected epidemic case and whether they could be a risk factor. If yes, the recommended actions as per RKI or BGM are displayed to the user.
If not, digitalCross checks that symptoms are not severe and recommends either a phone/video call or a Dr. appointment. Severe symptoms should always be referred to 112.
→ If the user accepts a phone/video appointment, they are transferred to a “lobby” (a digital waiting room) where they wait for a doctor to become available. Once the Dr. is available, ePA information is shown to the Dr. to help treatment and diagnosis. If the doctor prescribes medicine or time away from work, these notices are digitally signed by the Dr. and stored in the user’s digitalCross portfolio. Each prescription has a serial number that can be verified by the Krankenkasse for payment and audit purposes.
→ If the user needs to see a Dr. in person, they are shown the nearest relevant clinics. These are indicated on a map with travel time, waiting time, and total time. The user can switch between transportation modes, such as car and public transport.
→ If the user wants to order medicine, they click the “Pharmacy” button in the app. The user can choose any digitalCross-cooperating pharmacy that offers delivery, add their prescriptions and other products offered by the pharmacy. Payment can be handled inside the digitalCross app and the pharmacy is paid by digitalCross.
Use Case 3: Full Integration, Health Monitoring, Advanced Research Features
digitalCross remains a standalone App that a user downloads from their relevant App Store or views on a website.
The user logs in to digitalCross. The user ID has been verified as belonging to a specific person and the user has agreed to link his ePA to digitalCross.
→→ The user can manage their prescriptions, complete medical file, voluntary medical activities (blood, plasma donations, etc.) via the digitalCross dashboard.
→→ The user can manage medical certificates and their expiry from digitalCross (pilot medical, diving medical certificates, truck driver medical certificates, etc.)
If sick, the user clicks “find a doctor” from their dashboard.
The user fills in any symptoms and their severity.
digitalCross compares symptoms, pre-existing conditions, and medications against data published by RKI or BGM to check whether the user is a suspected epidemic case and whether they could be a risk factor. If yes, the recommended actions as per RKI or BGM are displayed to the user.
If not, digitalCross checks that symptoms are not severe and recommends either a phone/video call or a Dr. appointment. Severe symptoms should always be referred to 112.
If the user accepts a phone/video appointment, they are transferred to a “lobby” (a digital waiting room) where they wait for a doctor to become available. Once the Dr. is available, ePA information is shown to the Dr. to help treatment and diagnosis. If the doctor prescribes medicine or time away from work, these notices are digitally signed by the Dr. and stored in the user’s digitalCross portfolio. Each prescription has a serial number that can be verified by the Krankenkasse for payment and audit purposes.
If the user needs to see a Dr. in person, they are shown the nearest relevant clinics. These are indicated on a map with travel time, waiting time, and total time. The user can switch between transportation modes, such as car and public transport. →→ The user can also book a taxi/Uber from the digitalCross app.
→→ If the user wants to order medicine, they click the “Pharmacy” button in the app. The pharmacy tab is an in-app store, similar to Amazon.de or Bringmeister.de. Any active prescriptions are automatically added and the user can select any other available product. For each product that has mandatory information associated with it, the user must read and agree that they have read it before adding it to their cart. Once the user is done shopping, they check-out, pay in the app, and each item is delivered in either one delivery or as the items become available.
→→ Health Monitoring: The user can choose to have any step-counting smartwatches or health monitoring apps paired with digitalCross. This allow for: Easy display of allergies, pre-existing conditions, etc. In case of emergency. Automatic dialing of 112 if the smart device detects a potential emergency. Any useful future development options depending on available hardware functionality.
→→ Research: The user can choose to use their anonymized data for research. This would add all medical data from the ePA, including prescriptions, AUs, medicine purchase history, etc. to a database accessible to research institutions authorized by the German State. This benefits future research that requires a large amount of accessible data.
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