Digital education in practice: more legal certainty, less time pressure
The demands placed on doctors’ duty to inform patients are constantly increasing. Legislation and case law require patients to be given clear, individual and documented information before a medical procedure can be carried out. This is often difficult to implement in a busy clinic or practice.
Digital tools – in particular individualized educational videos – offer a concrete solution here. They enable standardized, quality-assured and at the same time patient-specific adaptable information transfer, which is not only legally more resilient, but also saves resources.
This article explains why digital Patient Education not only saves healthcare professionals time, but also creates a viable basis forInformed Consent in accordance with the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB) and the German Civil Code (BGB).
Legal basis: The obligation to provide individual information
In accordance with § 630e BGB (DE) and § 252 ABGB (AT) no medical intervention may take place without prior, individually understood consent. The informed consent must:
- be personalized (no standard texts without relevance)
- be comprehensible (adapted to language, education, health literacy)
- in good time and verbally
- be fully documented
Standard forms and pre-formulated texts alone cannot meet these requirements, as numerous court decisions have shown. A typical mistake is the blanket provision of an information form without an in-depth discussion or individual risk assessment.
This is where digital solutions come in – they standardize the process but individualize the content.
Individualized educational videos: Comprehensibility meets patient-centeredness
Modern educational tools such as medudoc make it possible to create patient-specific videos that are based on:
- the specific diagnosis,
- the specific intervention,
- individual risk factors (e.g. previous illnesses),
- the selected language
- and desired information density
are coordinated.
The result: a patient-specific explanatory video that is made available to the patient before the personal consultation – via link, tablet or portal if desired.
Advantages for legal certainty:
- Individual duty to inform fulfilled: The content of the video is tailored to the patient’s case, documented and archived.
- Comprehensibility guaranteed: The visual and linguistically simplified presentation significantly reduces misunderstandings.
- Increased evidence: The time of retrieval, viewing time and consent are recorded digitally – a powerful building block in the event of liability.
Legal recognition:
According to the EU eIDAS Regulation and national requirements (e.g. GDPR, ÄrzteG § 51), digital documentation and signatures are fully legally valid under certain conditions. A qualified electronic signature can replace handwritten signatures with legal certainty – for example in the case of remote declarations in the context of telemedicine.
Time savings for doctors – focus on the essentials
In conventional information sessions, doctors often spend 15-25 minutes explaining standard content – regardless of how familiar or interested the patient is.
With video-based information, the information process shifts to the preparation phase. Patients receive the material at an early stage, can watch it several times, discuss it with relatives if necessary and prepare specific questions.
In our studies, the following parameters were determined from the video-based Patient Education:
- Reduction of up to 70 % in the time spent on the conversation itself
- Better patient participation, as more understanding
- Fewer queries on standard topics
- Greater satisfaction and trust
This allows the medical discussion to focus on clinically decisive aspects: individual risks, surgical alternatives, decision-making. This leaves more time and care for complex cases – without neglecting routine clarification.
Integration into existing clinic workflows
Today, digital reconnaissance can be easily integrated into existing systems:
- medudoc offers API interfaces and HL7-compatible modules for connection to HIS/PVS.
- Signatures can be obtained digitally on the tablet or remotely (via two-factor authentication).
- Documentation is automated, including time stamp, content, signature, device verification and archiving.
This structure ensures standardized legal certainty, especially in facilities with high fluctuation or changing specialists – regardless of who provides information in individual cases.
Conclusion: Digital education is more than an efficiency tool – it is a quality standard
The combination of an individual approach, standardized quality and legally compliant documentation makes digital Patient Education a real game changer in everyday medical practice.
For medical professionals in particular, it is the answer to the growing demands of
- Legal conformity
- Patient loyalty
- Liability minimization
- Efficiency in the process
The aim is not to replace the doctor’s consultation, but to enhance it: through targeted preparation, better information and structured discussion.
