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Articles on Patient education

Law & regulation
Informed consent 2026: what has changed legally for physicians and hospitals
The basic framework of informed consent is stable, but the requirements for evidence, individualisation and documentation are rising. In Germany, the treating party bears the burden of proof for a proper consent discussion (§ 630h(2) BGB); general template forms are not sufficient if there are particular risk factors. Since August 2026, the transparency obligations of the EU AI Act also apply, for example to chatbots and AI-generated content. Common errors are missing proof of timing, standard forms without individualisation, undocumented conversations, ignored language barriers and analogue archiving.
October 28, 2026 · 9 min read
Law & regulation
Legally sound patient education in 2025: why comprehensive information is indispensable today – insights from current case law and digital innovation
Under both German and Austrian law, patient information must be complete, individual, comprehensible and provable (Germany: Sections 630a–630e of the German Civil Code, BGB; Austria: ABGB and patients' rights). Courts examine not only whether patients were informed, but how individually and how well this was documented. This includes rare but serious risks and genuine treatment alternatives. Digital patient education can strengthen comprehensibility and documentation; the personal consent discussion with a physician remains mandatory.
October 18, 2026 · 5 min read
Articles & guides
Overview of providers of patient education solutions in the DACH region
The market for digital patient education in the DACH region consists of two groups: providers with their own patient education content, and manufacturers of hospital information systems (HIS) and practice management systems (PMS) that integrate patient education modules and often use content from specialised providers for this. The overview sets out the providers side by side with their focus areas in content, medical history and workflow.
October 17, 2026 · 14 min read
Articles & guides
Digitalising patient education in everyday hospital practice, rethought
Many hospital systems work technically but are not user-centred – which is why patient education remains analogue in many places. This article describes four success factors for user-centred digitalisation: understanding real workflows on the ward, verifying what physicians and patients need, developing solutions together with them and testing prototypes early.
October 15, 2026 · 5 min read
Articles & guides
Six factors that influence patient understanding in preoperative patient education
Six factors influence how well patients understand preoperative patient education: the complexity of the medical information, the way it is presented, level of education and cognitive abilities, anxiety and stress before surgery, time pressure in medical practice and language barriers. Visual, clearly prepared and multilingual content that patients can watch calmly in advance improves understanding.
October 15, 2026 · 4 min read
Articles & guides
Digital patient education: how modern medical practices make “informed consent” legally sound and efficient
Today, informed consent is a traceable process, not just a signature on a form. Using the combination of medudoc and the practice software Simpleprax as an example, this article shows how medical practices connect medical history, patient education and consent digitally, which legal requirements apply and how the switch succeeds – from system integration through training and data protection to the pilot phase.
October 15, 2026 · 6 min read
Articles & guides
From medical history to patient education: how an end-to-end digital process gives physicians more time for the patients who really need it
In the conventional pre-admission pathway, all patients go through the same steps up to the face-to-face discussion – regardless of need. A structured digital medical history allows patients to be grouped by risk: low-risk patients are fully prepared digitally, while patients with a complex history receive more time in the discussion. The risk classification prepares the physician's assessment; the decision is made by the physician.
October 15, 2026 · 8 min read
Articles & guides
The psychology of good patient education: how language, visuals and storytelling promote understanding
Whether patient education is understood depends less on the amount of information than on how it is conveyed. Anxiety and technical language make information harder to understand and remember; relevant, personalised content, clear language, multilingual support, images and a narrative structure improve it. Being able to repeat content strengthens informed self-determination.
October 15, 2026 · 8 min read
Articles & guides
One video instead of two appointments – combined vs. separate patient education for anaesthesia and surgery
When a procedure requires both surgical and anaesthetic patient education, hospitals face an organisational question: are both combined in a single appointment or video, or do they remain two separate processes, each with its own signature? Both models are established in practice, and both can be justified clinically – the decision is not purely technical but concerns the allocation of responsibility between the specialties.
September 21, 2026 · 5 min read
Articles & guides
The consent sheet is not a form, but the result of a process
With medudoc, a digital informed consent sheet is not created by selecting a suitable form from a library, but generated automatically from upstream data: the medical history, type of procedure and individual risk profile come together to produce the patient-specific Informed Consent Sheet (IC Sheet). The sheet is thus the end product of a data flow – not the starting point of a form-filling process.
July 10, 2026 · 8 min read
Law & regulation
Burden of proof for informed consent: why a signature is not enough in a liability case
Under Section 630h(2) of the German Civil Code (BGB), the treating party bears the burden of proving patient information and consent — not the patient. A signed consent form only proves that a document was signed, not that the patient was informed individually, comprehensibly and in good time. The hospital's position becomes robust when the entire consent process can be reconstructed: which content was viewed when, which questions were asked and when the document was signed. In Austria, established OGH case law applies a comparable allocation of the burden of proof.
July 7, 2026 · 7 min read
Law & regulation
Telemedical consent discussion: the legal position for ASA I/II patients in Germany and Austria
In Germany and Austria, the prevailing view holds that a fully telemedical consent discussion for patients in risk classes ASA I and ASA II before straightforward elective procedures is permissible, provided the relevant requirements are met. What is required is a genuine real-time conversation with a physician — by video or by telephone — with the opportunity to ask questions, the patient's agreement, timely delivery and documentation that stands up as evidence. A patient education video or a consent sheet alone does not replace this conversation. What changes is not the duty to hold the conversation, but its modality. A ruling by the highest courts specifically on video-assisted consent discussions is still pending in both countries — to that extent, the legal position is not conclusively settled.
July 6, 2026 · 23 min read
Articles & guides
Mallampati classification and digital medical history: why airway assessment stays in the hospital
The Mallampati classification is a visual examination of the oral cavity that a trained person performs directly on the seated patient — it cannot be collected via a digital questionnaire. medudoc therefore supports airway assessment where a smart digital medical history is strongest: in the structured recording of the patient's history and in early, individual patient education on anaesthetic techniques and alternatives. The physical airway examination itself — including the Mallampati classification — continues to be performed in person by the physician at admission.
June 30, 2026 · 9 min read
Law & regulation
Informed consent in Austria: legal framework, practice and challenges for medical staff
In Austria, medical treatment is only permissible with valid consent (§§ 252–255 ABGB); without it, treatment is in principle unlawful, even if it was medically indicated. Consent requires oral, comprehensible and timely information about the nature and aim of the treatment, its risks, alternatives, prospects of success and the consequences of not treating. For hospitals, §§ 5a and 8 KAKuG also apply; there, § 10 KAKuG requires the patient information to be documented, while § 51 ÄrzteG sets out physicians' general duty to document. Consent sheets and videos supplement the physician's discussion, but do not replace it.
June 24, 2026 · 8 min read
Articles & guides
Preoperative admission process: where physician time is lost — and how that is changing
In the preoperative admission process, physician time is lost at three points: before the appointment through incomplete medical history forms, in the consent discussion through standard content repeated every day, and afterwards through media discontinuities in consent and HIS handover. In a prospective study at University Hospital Würzburg, median physician discussion time before cholecystectomy fell by 81% with video-assisted patient education; understanding and satisfaction remained high. The greatest effect comes from a process planned digitally from end to end.
June 23, 2026 · 6 min read
Law & regulation
Why generic consent sheets become a liability risk in hospitals
Under Section 630e of the German Civil Code (BGB), patient information must be tailored to the specific patient. Generic consent sheets document that information was provided, but do not prove that the patient was informed about the risks relevant to them individually. Three sources of risk stand out: lack of relevance to the individual risk profile, outdated content and foreign-language versions that are not kept in sync with the German version. Consent documents generated individually for each patient address all three.
June 23, 2026 · 7 min read
Articles & guides
Why generic medical patient education videos are not enough
Generic patient education videos cover a type of procedure across the board and are therefore either too general or too long. Under § 630e BGB, however, patient information must be tailored to the procedure and the individual situation; too much irrelevant content also makes it harder to understand. Modular video sequences combine standardised building blocks with individual relevance. Videos complement the physician's discussion; they do not replace it.
March 7, 2026 · 8 min read
Articles & guides
Digital patient education: an implementation guide for hospitals
Digital patient education is more than a PDF on a tablet: its value comes from modular content matched to the procedure and risk profile, and from a clearly managed process. This guide describes the regulatory framework, the phases from pilot project to routine use and the role of acceptance among physicians and patients. The physician's discussion remains the place for the individual decision.
March 7, 2026 · 9 min read
Articles & guides
Four success factors for introducing digital patient education in everyday hospital practice
Digital patient education becomes established in everyday hospital practice when four conditions are met: it is developed together with clinical staff, improved iteratively with prototypes and tests, adapted flexibly to the hospital's workflows and embedded in existing processes as a supplement. This article illustrates this using the example of medudoc's video-assisted patient education.
December 22, 2025 · 4 min read
Articles & guides
Digital patient education in practice: greater legal certainty, less time pressure
Under § 630e BGB (Germany) and § 252 ABGB (Austria), patients must be informed individually, comprehensibly and in good time – standard texts alone are not sufficient. Individualised patient education videos convey the standard content in advance, so the physician's discussion can concentrate on individual risks and alternatives. The videos do not replace the personal discussion; they prepare it and make the informed consent process traceable.
December 16, 2025 · 6 min read
Articles & guides
Digital concepts of patient education in ophthalmology
In this interview, Prof. Dr. med. Lothar Schweigerer describes the challenges of analogue patient education in ophthalmology and the benefits of a fully digital, video-based solution: less time required of those informing patients, consistent content and complete documentation. He explains how patient education with medudoc works, which ophthalmic procedures are covered and how data protection and proof are ensured.
December 16, 2025 · 6 min read
Articles & guides
How modern patient education with video solutions noticeably relieves everyday hospital practice
Paper-based patient education creates media discontinuities, duplicated effort and uncertainty among patients. Digital systems only solve this if they do more than digitise forms: video-based, individually compiled patient education improves comprehensibility, documents the process and relieves physicians, who can concentrate on individual questions in the discussion.
December 16, 2025 · 5 min read
Articles & guides
Why user-centred digitalisation in hospitals can finally work: a practical example from patient education
Many digital solutions in healthcare are developed without regard to what physicians actually need and are therefore hardly used. Using the example of video-assisted patient education, which emerged from everyday practice in neurosurgery, this article describes four success factors: development together with physicians and hospitals, prototypes for learning, adaptable technology, and supplementing rather than replacing existing processes.
December 16, 2025 · 5 min read

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Articles on Patient education

Informed consent 2026: what has changed legally for physicians and hospitals

Legally sound patient education in 2025: why comprehensive information is indispensable today – insights from current case law and digital innovation

Overview of providers of patient education solutions in the DACH region

Digitalising patient education in everyday hospital practice, rethought

Six factors that influence patient understanding in preoperative patient education

Digital patient education: how modern medical practices make “informed consent” legally sound and efficient

From medical history to patient education: how an end-to-end digital process gives physicians more time for the patients who really need it

The psychology of good patient education: how language, visuals and storytelling promote understanding

One video instead of two appointments – combined vs. separate patient education for anaesthesia and surgery

The consent sheet is not a form, but the result of a process

Burden of proof for informed consent: why a signature is not enough in a liability case

Telemedical consent discussion: the legal position for ASA I/II patients in Germany and Austria

Mallampati classification and digital medical history: why airway assessment stays in the hospital

Informed consent in Austria: legal framework, practice and challenges for medical staff

Preoperative admission process: where physician time is lost — and how that is changing

Why generic consent sheets become a liability risk in hospitals

Why generic medical patient education videos are not enough

Digital patient education: an implementation guide for hospitals

Four success factors for introducing digital patient education in everyday hospital practice

Digital patient education in practice: greater legal certainty, less time pressure

Digital concepts of patient education in ophthalmology

How modern patient education with video solutions noticeably relieves everyday hospital practice

Why user-centred digitalisation in hospitals can finally work: a practical example from patient education

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