What is a DiGA?
The abbreviation DiGA stands for "Digitale Gesundheitsanwendung" (Digital Health Application). It refers to a digital offering or program that doctors or psychotherapists have been able to prescribe since October 2020. The legal basis for this is the DVG (Digital Supply Act).
The everyday term "app on prescription" makes it easier to understand what a DiGA is. However, a DiGA does not necessarily have to be a mobile app.
Web applications and other programs can also be approved as DiGAs. Digital health applications are classified as medical devices and can depending on their functions and medical purpose be assigned to risk classes I, IIa or now also IIb. A CE marking under the European Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) is required. This classification indicates that the certified product poses at most a low risk to the user and cannot cause physical harm.
A prerequisite for including a DiGA in the official DiGA directory of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) is proof of a positive effect on care. This can be either a medical benefit (e.g., improvement of symptoms) or patient-relevant improvements to the structures and procedures surrounding care.
A prerequisite for including a DiGA in the official DiGA directory of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) is proof of a positive effect on care. This can be either a medical benefit (e.g., improvement of symptoms) or patient-relevant improvements to the structures and procedures surrounding care.
This clearly sets a DiGA apart from the now common health apps, and they should not be confused with each other.
The requirements for the "app on prescription" are, as described above, very high. DiGAs are subject to strict controls and must demonstrate their medical benefit and effectiveness. By contrast, any manufacturer can call a product a "health app." There is no formal definition of "health app," and any claimed health benefit does not have to be proven. Labeling as a medical device is optional for health apps, not mandatory.
A DiGA is designed for the user and should primarily provide a benefit to them.
It should help the user detect, monitor, treat or ease illnesses this is referred to as medical benefit. Other applications improve the structures and processes around a person's medical care. This is called structural and procedural improvement.
How can you get an "app on prescription"?
A user can have a DiGA prescribed by their doctor or psychotherapist. In addition to prescriptions from doctors or psychotherapists, people with statutory health insurance can also apply for a DiGA directly from their health insurance fund. The prerequisite is that an appropriate medical indication exists.
This article comes from BloodPressureDB – the leading app since 2011 that helps hundreds of thousands monitor their blood pressure every day.
Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based data and is continuously updated (as of 02/2026).
Author Sabine Croci is a qualified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as in outpatient care, and has led BloodPressureDB's specialist editorial team since 2015. Thanks to her extensive additional qualifications as a paramedic, first responder and in various therapy and emergency areas, she provides solid, practical and reliably reviewed information.
Author Sabine Croci is a qualified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as in outpatient care, and has led BloodPressureDB's specialist editorial team since 2015. Thanks to her extensive additional qualifications as a paramedic, first responder and in various therapy and emergency areas, she provides solid, practical and reliably reviewed information.
