The ePrescription for DiGA – what's changing and what you should know
Until now, DiGA could only be prescribed via paper prescriptions. The ePrescription for digital health applications is set to change that – at least in the future. Here's what the new process involves, how it's supposed to work, and why it's not yet mandatory.
From paper prescription to digital process
If you regularly prescribe DiGA like Mindable, you know the routine: fill out a Muster 16, enter the PZN and indication, sign, hand it to your patient. They submit the prescription to their health insurance, wait for the activation code – and only then can therapy begin.
This detour via paper and post costs time. The ePrescription is set to change that.
What is the ePrescription for DiGA?
You may already know the ePrescription from the pharmacy: since 2024, medications in Germany must be prescribed electronically. Instead of a pink slip, the prescription is created digitally, signed, and redeemed via the E-Rezept App from gematik or the electronic health card (eGK).
For digital health applications (DiGA) – apps on prescription – this digital route hasn't been available in a standardised way until now. The so-called ePrescription for DiGA is set to change this. It uses the existing ePrescription infrastructure, so prescribing and redemption can run fully digitally for the first time.
The key difference from the medication ePrescription
With the medication ePrescription, you go to the pharmacy with your eGK or E-Rezept App. With the DiGA ePrescription, the prescription is instead transmitted to your health insurance company – because they provide the activation code for the app.
How is the new process supposed to work?
For doctors and therapists
Your doctor or therapist creates the prescription digitally in their practice system, signs it electronically, and transmits it to the E-Rezept service. You then see it directly in the E-Rezept App – or receive a printout with a QR code. Detailed information for healthcare professionals is available on our prescribing page.
For patients
- You see the DiGA prescription in the E-Rezept App on your smartphone.
- Tap "Request activation code" ("Freischaltcode anfordern").
- Your health insurance checks your eligibility and provides the activation code.
- You find the code in the E-Rezept App or your insurance company's app.
- You use the activation code to unlock the DiGA.
Alternatively – if you don't use the E-Rezept App – you'll still receive a printout with a prescription code that you can submit by post or through your health insurance. You can also use our prescription service: simply upload a photo of your prescription, and we'll take care of the rest.
What's happened so far – and why it's taking longer
The pilot phase in Hamburg
From May to September 2025, the ePrescription for DiGA was tested in Hamburg and surrounding areas – with 10 practices and 13 health insurance companies. The results were sobering:
- 119 DiGA ePrescriptions were issued
- Only 15 of them (around 13%) were fully digitally redeemed
- A further 13 were redeemed via the paper printout
- 91 prescriptions (over 76%) were never redeemed at all
The reasons: the average waiting time for the activation code was around 14 days – even though the law requires a maximum of 2 working days. Authentication in the app was complicated for many patients. And the printout looked confusingly similar to a regular medication prescription, causing many patients to take it to the pharmacy instead. The full results are available in gematik's TI model region final report.
The current status
Originally, 1 January 2025 was planned as the mandatory start date. The Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) postponed this because the technical prerequisites were not met. Industry associations also recommend improving the process fundamentally first.
The current situation: the ePrescription for DiGA can be used voluntarily, but is not yet mandatory.
What does this mean for you?
As a patient
- You can continue to receive Mindable via a normal paper prescription and submit it to your health insurance.
- If your practice and your health insurance already support the ePrescription for DiGA, you can use the digital route via the E-Rezept App.
- Regardless of the route: DiGA are free of charge for statutory health insurance members – no co-payment required.
As a doctor or psychotherapist
- Prescribing via Muster 16 remains valid and is currently the standard.
- Once your PVS supports the ePrescription DiGA feature, you can use it voluntarily.
- The PZN remains the same – for Mindable: Panic & Agoraphobia it's PZN 17454202, for Mindable: Social Phobia it's PZN 19166938.
- More information can be found in our section for healthcare professionals.
Conclusion
No paper, no postal delays, faster activation: the direction is right. But after the Hamburg pilot it's clear that the technical and organisational side still needs work.
Until then, not much changes for you: you can still get Mindable via prescription or proof of diagnosis through your health insurance. Once the ePrescription for DiGA works reliably across the board, access will be quicker and simpler.
