Digitalization in Diabetology

Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes, vol. 133, pp. 197–204

Abstract

NOTICE OF UPDATE The DDG clinical practice guidelines are updated regularly during the second half of the calendar year. Please ensure that you read and cite the respective current version. The aim of this new chapter in the clinical practice guidelines of the German Diabetes Society (DDG) is to present aspects of digitalization in diabetology in outpatient and inpatient clinical practice. For aspects that primarily concern diabetes technology, such as glucose sensors and continuous glucose measurements, we refer to the corresponding chapter in the DDGʼs clinical practice guideline and, for the Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) systems, we refer to the current S3 Guideline for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, version 5.0 dated 2023. At this point in 2024, we will not yet delve into the scientific evaluation criteria of the DDG for digital health applications (DiGAs), which are currently being evaluated; the electronic diabetes record of the DDG (eDA) or the digital disease management program (dDMP) planned by the government as they have not yet been regularly implemented in care. Since the clinical practice guidelines of the DDG are updated annually, these topics will be included in care in the future. Furthermore, we will not go into the telematics infrastructure and “electronic patient record (ePA) for all” this year, because the design and implementation of the new gematik concept are still in progress. The DDGʼs clinical practice guidelines on digitalisation are a “living system” and are updated annually, with the topics addressed changing in the future as needed. Therefore, the following topics will be addressed this year: Positions of the DDG Digital Code Smart pens DiGAs with listing in the DiGA Directory Video training and telehealth Digitalisation of diabetes care in the inpatient sector Data protection and security in practice Digitalisation is changing all areas of medicine including diagnostics, monitoring, therapy, care, screening and prevention, as well as counselling and education. However, it also represents a unique opportunity to connect different disciplines through the use of different digital instruments (e. g. apps, smartphones, tablets, telemedical applications) and to provide medical expertise on a large scale and in a timely manner The doctor-patient relationship, the roles of the doctor, patient and other participants in the health sector will change as a result. The clinical decision-making aids for doctors and patients, the evaluation of wearables and lifestyle apps as well as the integration of telemedicine and communications are relevant here. Publication History Article published online: 06 May 2025 © 2025. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

Authors 14

1. Susanne Tan

   Bielefeld University · University Hospitals of the Ruhr-University of Bochum · Heart and Diabetes Center North Rhine-Westphalia · Ruhr University Bochum

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Diabetology and Endocrinology, Heart and Diabetes Center NRW, Bad Oeynhausen, University Hospital, Ruhr-University Bochum, Medical Faculty OWL, University of Bielefeld, Germany

2. Angelika Deml
   Affiliation as printed

   Catholic Academy for Professions in Health and Social Services in Bavaria e. V., Regensburg, Germany

3. Manuel Ickrath
   Affiliation as printed

   Management Consultancy, Wiesbaden, Germany

4. Jens Kröger
   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Digital Diabetology Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

5. Bernhard Kulzer

   German Diabetes Center Mergentheim · Forschungsinstitut der Diabetes Akademie Mergentheim · University of Bamberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany

   Research Institute Diabetes Academy Mergentheim (FIDAM), Diabetes Center Mergentheim, Bad Mergentheim, Germany

6. Friedhelm Petry
   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Applied Diabetology, Medicum Wetzlar, Wetzlar, Germany

7. Nikolaus Scheper
   Affiliation as printed

   Practice Drs. Scheper, Schneider and Veit, Marl, Germany

8. Oliver Schubert-Olesen

   German Diabetes Center Mergentheim · Diabetesinstitut Heidelberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Diabetes Center Hamburg City, Hamburg, Germany

9. Peter E. H. Schwarz
   Affiliation as printed

   Diabetology, University Hospital Dresden, Dresden, Germany

10. Dietrich Tews

    Diabetesinstitut Heidelberg · Diabetes Center Berne

    Affiliation as printed

    Diabetes Center Dr. Tews, Gelnhausen, Germany

11. Marlo Verket Aachen Department of Internal Medicine I-Cardiology

    Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Internal Medicine I – Cardiology, Angiology and Internal Intensive Care Medicine, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany

12. Sabrina Vité
    Affiliation as printed

    German Diabetes Society (DDG), Berlin, Germany

13. Tobias Wiesner
    Affiliation as printed

    Practice for Endocrinology and Focus on Diabetes, MVZ Metabolic Medicine Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

14. Dirk Müller‐Wieland corresponding Aachen Department of Internal Medicine I-Cardiology

    Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Internal Medicine I – Cardiology, Angiology and Internal Intensive Care Medicine, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany

    German Diabetes Society (DDG), Berlin, Germany