Digital anamnesis: it's that simple

Was ist eine Anamnese? 

Sowohl bei der herkömmlichen als auch bei der digitalen Anamnese erörtert der Arzt die Krankheitsvorgeschichte seiner Patienten. In den meisten Fällen wird die Anamnese aus Zeitgründen in Eigenregie vom Patienten übernommen und nicht persönlich vom Arzt durchgeführt. Auf einem Fragebogen erörtern die Patienten und Patientinnen eigenständig, ob sie derzeit Medikamente nehmen, welche Allergien sie haben oder an welchen Vorerkrankungen sie leiden. 

Aus diesen Informationen kann der Arzt wichtige Rückschlüsse für die Diagnose ziehen. Der Mediziner hat mithilfe der Anamnese also die Möglichkeit, sich ein ganzheitliches und umfassendes Bild des Gesundheitszustands des Patienten zu machen. Das kann für den späteren Therapieerfolg von entscheidender Bedeutung sein.  

Darum ist die Anamnese so wichtig

Eine gründliche und reibungslose Anamnese ist das Fundament jeder Arzt-Patienten-Beziehung. Unter anderem aus diesen praktischen Gründen ist die Patientenaufnahme wichtig für die Praxis und den Patienten: 

Reibungslose Terminorganisation

Die Patientenaufnahme ist für die Organisation innerhalb der Praxis besonders wichtig. Schließlich gibt der Anamnese-Bogen den Anstoß für die nächsten Schritte. Beispielsweise ergeben sich aus etwaigen Vorerkrankungen oder Allergien weitere Voruntersuchungen. Indem die Medizinischen Fachangestellten bereits bei Anamnese wissen, was sie bei dem Patienten individuell beachten müssen, können sie je nachdem Termine anpassen und so die Praxis-Organisation optimieren. So kann Ihr Praxispersonal einerseits gesammelt alle wichtigen Schritte in die Wege leiten. Durch die effiziente Praxis-Planung andererseits können Sie lange Wartezeiten auf Termine für Ihre Patienten vermeiden.

Targeted diagnosis and therapy

But what is even more important: Only a thorough and well-founded medical history ensures the best possible treatment success. After all, the anamnesis lays the foundation for the most targeted diagnosis and therapy possible.

As a study from the 1970s shows, the patient's individual medical history or current life circumstances are of greater importance for diagnosis than, for example, laboratory values or instrumental examinations. The scientists found that in 66 out of 80 patients, the medical history alone provided enough information to make the correct diagnosis.

Taking a patient's medical history takes a lot of time

The medical history is therefore the be-all and end-all of every treatment contact and of great importance for the overall success of treatment. Nevertheless, a thorough patient intake costs a lot of time, which doctors and medical assistants hardly have at their disposal due to extensive bureaucratic constraints in Germany.

This is how little time physicians and MFAs have for talking to patients

As apobank found out in a study, the biggest annoyance for doctors is bureaucracy. Around 90 percent of all healthcare professionals are annoyed by the enormous amount of time spent on documentation and administration in everyday practice. Time that they would like to spend on their patients. Unfortunately, this is hardly possible. Surveys have shown that a doctor-patient consultation in Germany lasts around seven minutes on average. Far too little time for a detailed initial medical history.

It's time for the digital anamnesis

One way of spending more time with patients could be to take a digital medical history. Although the technical possibilities for this have long been available, hardly any physicians make use of it. Most German practices still use paper questionnaires that are printed out and filled in by hand by the patient. The forms are then digitized and shredded after a certain time for data protection reasons.

An enormous amount of time that would be better spent treating patients. With digital medical history, your MFAs don't have to print forms, scan them, file them, or shred them later. It's an extraordinary time-saver that lowers your MFAs' stress levels and gives your patients more time.  

Here's how to make sure patients take their medical history before they even see their doctor

With the digital possibilities, it is no longer a problem for your patient to complete the medical history right from home. As a doctor, you then already have all the information you need for the treatment at your patient appointment.

With these tips, you can encourage your patients to take their medical history before they even visit your office:

Connect the digital medical history with the appointment booking  

Unlike patient admission, appointment booking is already digitized in many medical practices. In this case, there is nothing to stop you sending your patient a link to the digital case history form when booking the appointment. Your patient can then fill out the questionnaire from the comfort of their own sofa and send it to you digitally.

Remind your patients of the medical history via text message  

If a patient has overlooked the link to the digital medical history within the appointment booking, why not send them a reminder via SMS? This can even be automated with many software solutions, so that your practice staff no longer have to trigger the reminders manually.

Link the medical history form on your website  

Last but not least, you can also simply link the medical history form on your website. When the patient finds out about you, your practice team, your opening hours, treatment methods, etc. online, they will come across this link or QR code. This increases the likelihood that your patient will take their own medical history all by themselves - and even without you having to remind them.

This is how easy digital anamnesis is with Nelly  

If you want to switch to a digital anamnesis, Nelly's software is the easiest way for you. With the software, the patient is recorded quickly and smoothly via the patient's smartphone. It is not necessary to install the software on the patient's cell phone. Patients can enter all important data themselves and even sign documents securely and in compliance with the law.

Create a digital workflow in your practice now. We will advise you on your individual case without obligation and free of charge!

Contact Nelly now!

The personal designations used in this article always refer equally to all persons. For the sake of better readability, we have refrained from using double or opposite names.