Overview of providers of patient education solutions in the DACH region
Introduction
Patient Education – i.e. providing patients with comprehensive information about planned procedures, risks, alternatives and legal aspects before treatment – is required by law and is a central component of medical care. In German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), a diverse market of digital solutions has developed in recent years to complement the established analog solutions and make this information process more efficient, comprehensible and legally compliant. This market analysis provides a neutral overview of the most important providers of such solutions in the DACH region. Both cross-specialty applications (for various medical specialties) and inpatient and outpatient applications are taken into account.
For a better understanding, we divide the overview into two main sections:
- Providers with their own content for Patient Education: This section presents companies that create their own medical education content and provide it as digital (or hybrid) solutions. These include providers of digital information sheets, explanatory videos or interactive information apps. Pure software platforms without their own medical content are not included, as the focus is on content providers.
- Hospital information and practice management systems (HIS/PMS) with patient education modules: This section highlights which established HIS and PVS manufacturers offer modules for digital Patient Education. For the sake of transparency, it is important to indicate from which third-party providers the content (texts, forms, videos) in these modules originates – for example, if an HIS integrates the content library of a specialized provider.
We would like to provide you with a neutral, non-evaluated overview of possible providers to make it easier for you to decide on the best solution for you.
Provider of patient education solutions (own content)
This section presents leading providers in DACH that develop and distribute their own medical content for Patient Education. This content can be available in various formats – from traditional information sheets (text/PDF) to audiovisual material (explanatory videos, 3D animations) and interactive digital forms or apps. Many solutions combine several formats (hybrid approaches) and offer functions such as electronic signatures, connection to hospital IT and multilingual content to overcome language barriers. The following table provides a structured overview of the most important providers, their solutions and features:
| Provider | Solution & contents | Special features |
|---|---|---|
| Docs in Clouds(tara) | Telemedical platform for anesthesiological education and premedication with digital education and anamnesis functions as well as video calls with a focus on outpatient and inpatient anesthesia. Available languages: German | KBV-listed video service, GDPR-compliant, focus on remote clarification and preliminary clarification |
| InformMe | Web-based solution for digital Patient Education and anamnesis with textual content, audio and video elements as well as CMS for own documents with a focus on clinics and practices. Available languages: German and numerous foreign languages incl. easy language | Digital signature, structured data, system integration (e.g. RIS/PVS), usage documentation |
| MAIA.tools | Digital Patient Education with standardized information paths, anamnesis forms and 3D animation videos with a focus on mainly outpatient clinics. Available languages: German and several foreign languages | eIDAS-compliant signature, forensically secure documentation, deep HIS integration |
| medudoc | Platform for individualized, video-based Patient Education combined with digital, legally verified and printable information sheets and automated documentation. The service is aimed at clinics and medical practices. Available languages: German native, around 23 other languages announced | The only provider with individualized video content that shows the entire procedure. Audit-proof consent trail, video focus, integration in HIS/PVS. Centralized management and sharing of medical history information. |
| MIA Video | Library of medical explanatory videos to support Patient Education along the entire treatment process. The offer is aimed at inpatient and outpatient care. Available languages: Up to 29 languages. | Video-centered approach, pay-per-use model, integration into patient portals |
| perimed Fachbuch Verlag | Legally verified information and consent forms in paper form and as digital solutions (perimed puls, perimed mobil). The offer is aimed at clinics, medical practices and multidisciplinary outpatient clinics. Available languages: German and selected foreign languages | Long-established provider, digital signature, broad system integration |
| synMedico (infoscope) | Multimedia platform for digital Patient Education with forms, illustrations and videos, especially in dentistry. The service focuses on dentistry, but is increasingly developing across disciplines. Available languages: German and selected foreign languages | Tablet-based education, interactive content, deep PVS integration |
| Thieme Compliance | Digital and analog Patient Education based on the Thieme publishing house with over 2,000 medically and legally tested information sheets (E-ConsentPro). The service is aimed at clinics and medical practices. As an established provider, Thieme currently supplies the largest range of information sheets. Available languages: German and up to 16 foreign languages | High degree of standardization, continuous updating, broad HIS/PVS and portal integration |
This overview shows the range of offerings: It ranges from large medical publishers (e.g. Thieme Compliance, perimed), which traditionally only publish information sheets, to young health tech start-ups (e.g. medudoc, InformMe, MIA Video), which work with new technologies such as video education, AI-supported workflows and app integration. Some solutions are specialized (such as Tara for anaesthesiology education or infoskop for the dental sector), while others cover almost all disciplines.
What all the providers presented have in common is that they provide their own medical content, whether in text, image or video form. This distinguishes them from pure software platforms, which digitize the process of providing information but do not provide their own content. The content of these solutions is usually created and regularly updated by expert teams of doctors and lawyers in order to remain medically and legally up to date (e.g. Thieme Compliance works with a network of specialist authorsand medical lawyersto keep over 2,000 information sheets in 30 specialist areas up to date). Multilingual availability is also an important trend: almost all providers provide translations or use native speakers for foreign-language dubbing in order to reduce language barriers in the information process.
Overall, these solutions help to make the information process more efficient (less paper, automatic documentation), increase patient comprehension (visual aids, simple language) and improve legal certainty (digital signatures, logging of every step). The next section looks at how the content from these specialist providers is used in existing hospital and practice software systems.
HIS and PVS systems with patient education modules
Hospital information systems (HIS) and practice management systems (PVS) form the digital backbone of clinics and practices. Many of these systems now have integrated modules or interfaces for Patient Education in order to map the education process directly in the doctors’ usual workflow. In most cases, HIS/PVS manufacturers do not rely on content they have created themselves, but cooperate with the specialized content providers from section 1. This means that, for example, the established information sheets of a publisher or the video content of a platform can be used seamlessly in the hospital or practice IT system.
The following table lists some of the major HIS/PVS providers in the DACH region that offer a Patient Education module and indicates who provided the content components (form texts, videos, etc.) in each case:
| HIS/PVS provider (module) and content partners | Notes on integration |
|---|---|
| CompuGroup Medical AmbulApps module Uses the content of the perimed publishing house (information sheets). | In 2024, CGM acquired the specialist provider AmbulApps, whose solution for digital anamnesis and clarification has now been integrated into the CGM portfolio. Over 500 perimed forms are already stored in this module. Patients can answer anamnestic questions and fill out information forms at home via a link or in the practice on a tablet. The data is transferred to the CGM-PVS in a structured manner; signatures are made digitally on the tablet. Thanks to the partnership with perimed, practices have direct access to many specialty-specific information forms without having to create their own content. |
| Dedalus (ORBIS KIS) Integration of the Thieme information sheets via E-ConsentPro. | Thieme’s patient information forms are fully integrated into Dedalus ORBIS (one of the most widely used HIS in DACH). Originally there was an interface, but now integration takes place directly in the OR planning workflow. Over 340 clinics are already using this solution. Doctors can assign suitable information documents from the Thieme library to the patient directly from ORBIS; after digital completion and signature, the documents are archived in the electronic patient file as an audit-proof PDF. |
| medatixx (practice software) Uses content from Thieme Compliance and medudoc, both via partner solutions. | The PVS manufacturer medatixx enables the connection of external information solutions to its practice software (e.g. medatixx, x.isynet) via HealthHub. For example, practices can integrate Idana or Simpleprax (and therefore also medudoc). Idana Clarification Pro integrates the complete Thieme content library – over 2000 clarification forms in 30 specialist areas and up to 16 languages – into the digital practice clarification. Simpleprax also offers numerous anamnesis and information templates and primarily uses medudoc for information content. |
| Nexus AG (HIS / patient portal) Uses information sheets from perimed and explanatory films from MIA Video. | The HIS solutions from Nexus (widely used in Germany and Switzerland) integrate educational content via partners. Nexus cooperates with perimed (information sheets) – a partnership that enables the perimed mobile solution to be integrated into Nexus HIS. Nexus / CHILI also works together with MIA Video in the area of patient portals: MIA’s video educational content is integrated into NEXUS / PORTAL via API so that patients can access multilingual explanatory videos before a procedure, for example. This combination of text forms and videos in the Nexus ecosystem increases patient safety and convenience during preparation. |
| Simpleprax practice workflows Uses information sheets and explanatory videos from medudoc and Thieme Compliance. | Simpleprax combines practice workflows such as anamnesis, data processing, information and document management in a continuous process. The provider focuses on established medical practices and medical care centers and offers a turnkey solution as a supplement to patient information systems. The solution primarily integrates the information videos from medudoc, but also supports the integration of information sheets from Thieme Compliance, although only for the private practice sector. |
| Zollsoft tomedo (PVS) – digital forms Uses information forms from medudoc, Thieme Compliance and perimed. | The tomedo medical software enables the use of digital information forms directly in the practice workflow. Perimed forms can be integrated via an interface (instead of working with paper). Many tomedo users use either medudoc educational forms and educational videos, perimed or Thieme forms as templates; tomedo supports the filling out, graphic marking (e.g. drawing sketches) and digital signing of these forms on the tablet. The finished PDFs are automatically stored in the patient file. |
| Dental PVS (e.g. BDV VISIdent, Evident) Uses dental information forms from synMedico. | In the dental sector, leading practice management systems work closely with synMedico. For example, BDV (manufacturer of the VISIdent software) has implemented an integration of infoskop, in which patient master data from VISIdent is transferred to the iPad and infoskop clarification is carried out there. The PVS Evident also cooperates with synMedico (interface for iPad clarification). This provides dentists with over 800 dental information forms and ~1500 explanatory videos from the infoskop library directly in the practice. The information protocols flow back into the PVS after signing. These integrations avoid media disruptions and ensure uniform, digital documentation. |
| Patient portals (e.g. POLAVIS, Planfox) Integration with various providers such as medudoc, Thieme Compliance and perimed. | When implementing digital Patient Education, some clinics rely on third-party patient portals that mediate between the HIS and the patient. Solutions such as POLAVIS or Planfox offer deeply integrated patient education workflows. The Thieme content library is often also used here – for example, Thieme information forms can be filled out by the patient directly in the portal via the E-ConsentPro Patient module. This relieves the burden on clinicians, as the patient can work through the standardized forms at home in advance. Here too, the completed and signed documents are then sent back to the HIS and archived. In addition, such portals enable the integration of further services (video consultation, medical history tools, etc.) in order to digitally map the entire patient pathway. |
Specialized digital providers often act as white-label partners for established IT systems: one example is synMedico, whose infoscope platform in dentistry is offered as an integrated module by several PVS manufacturers. Similarly, medudoc’s video-based education is integrated into practice software via partners such as Simpleprax and Tomedo, or MIA Video is used as a module in portals and HIS subsystems (such as Nexus CHILI).
For hospitals and medical practices, this approach has the advantage that they can continue to use existing workflows – information is provided directly in the familiar system – and still access the latest content without having to create their own information documents. Seamless technical integration (e.g. via HL7/FHIR interfaces or special APIs) is important so that patient data and documentation are automatically synchronized.
In conclusion, it can be said that digital Patient Education in the DACH region is characterized by an interplay between content specialists and system providers. While the former ensure high-quality, legally compliant content, the latter provide the platforms to efficiently integrate this content into everyday clinical practice. This overview is intended to serve as a reference work to give healthcare professionals a transparent impression of the available solutions – and their respective strengths. This allows clinics and practices to decide which combination of content and technology is the most suitable for their educational processes, be it a video-based system to increase patient understanding or a specialized form tool for maximum legal protection. This neutral and comprehensive market analysis provides orientation in a dynamically growing area of healthcare IT.
