By Doreen Witt
5 August 2026

DigitalRadar 2026: IT infrastructure growing, telehealth with potential

Plus 65 percent: This figure shows how much digitisation has progressed in German hospitals. According to the initial results of the latest and third survey in 2026, the DigitalRadar score for German hospitals has risen to 55 out of a maximum of 100 points. An increase of around 65 percent since the first survey in 2021. However, while the basic IT infrastructure is now in place, the survey also reveals potential for improvement: telehealth performs the weakest compared to the other dimensions surveyed. Find out why this development is logical and what hospitals can do now.

What is the "DigitalRadar"?

To make the progress of digitalisation in German hospitals documentable over time, an expert consortium from science, research and consulting has DigitalRadar Hospital developed – a longitudinal study that has already been conducted three times since 2021 (2021, 2024, 2026). At its core is a standardised online questionnaire for hospitals. It helps to assess the status of their digitalisation.

The DigitalRadar score (DR score) provides details. Its scale ranges from 0 for “not digitized” to 100 for “fully digitized”. The expert consortium evaluates various aspects such as

Is the electronic health record (EHR) already in use?
Are medical devices interconnected?
To what extent is telemedicine implemented in a clinic?

Why is the DigitalRadar so important?

On the one hand, the DigitalRadar is an important political management tool: the Federal Ministry of Health uses the results to evaluate the impact of the funds invested as part of the Hospital Future Act (Krankenhauszukunftsgesetz - KHZG). On the other hand, the DigitalRadar is also a key measuring instrument for identifying where there is still a need for action in terms of digitization in the healthcare sector. Indirectly, the DigitalRadar also allows comparisons to be made with the digitalization of other countries.

For the third survey in 2026, 1,531 hospitals in Germany completed the questionnaire. Around 93.7 per cent of the clinics that had already taken part in 2021 participated again – an unusually stable and therefore meaningful data basis for longitudinal comparisons.

DigitalRadar 2026: IT infrastructure is in place – utilisation and telehealth are lagging behind

The Press release on the third survey 2026 reads clearly positively: The average digital maturity of German hospitals has risen from 33.3 points (2021) via 42.4 points (2024) to now 55 out of 100 possible points – an increase of 21.7 points or around 65 percent since 2021, of which 12.6 points or 29.7 percent alone since the second survey in 2024.

One detail from the evaluation is particularly revealing: according to the consortium, the organisational and infrastructural prerequisites for digitalisation in hospitals are now significantly more developed than at the beginning of the survey – whereas there are still challenges when it comes to the widespread use of digital applications and their integration into clinical routine. Translated, this means: many hospitals have invested and created the technological basis – but the systems are still not being used consistently in everyday practice and individual processes do not yet interlock seamlessly. This is particularly evident in telehealth: according to already public evaluation charts of the consortium, telehealth is the least developed of the seven DigitalRadar dimensions – this is the area in which hospitals have invested the least so far. Nevertheless, this is understandable: telemedical networks, teleconsultations or teleradiology require as a foundation precisely the IT infrastructure that has only now been established. The next logical step is to use this foundation for cross-facility collaboration as well.

The third DigitalRadar survey impressively demonstrates that digitalization has made great strides in recent years. However, when looking at the individual dimensions, one thing stands out: telehealth is still lagging behind. This is understandable, since telemedicine connectivity requires that the technical infrastructure already be in place within the organization - and many hospitals have only just established that infrastructure. The next step is to make this infrastructure usable across facilities. With simple, managed cloud solutions, we take care of exactly this task for hospitals, without them having to set up their own complex interface landscape. second survey an average of 51.9 points, whilst primary care providers averaged just 38.3 points. The consortium reports that digitalisation has progressed across all levels of care – and that smaller hospitals in particular have been able to narrow the gap between themselves and larger institutions. Primary care providers achieved the strongest relative growth, with an increase of 68.1 per cent. Looking at the average improvement across all levels of care, this stands at around 60%. A positive trend is also evident across the board when comparing the federal states: all 16 federal states showed an improvement compared with the previous survey.

The third survey indicates that these structural differences are gradually decreasing and Germany's hospitals are progressing digitally. Deeper insights will only become apparent in the final report on the third survey at the end of 2026.

New in the third survey: Initial figures on AI in everyday clinical practice

For the first time, the consortium also surveyed the current state of AI usage in a special survey. The result: 60.4 percent of hospitals (923 institutions) are already using AI applications, while a further 22.6 percent are planning to do so. AI is most widespread in speech and text processing (68.3 percent), followed by decision support (52.2 percent) and diagnostics (49.2 percent). However, there is still room for improvement when it comes to training opportunities: only 59.5 percent of institutions currently offer their staff AI training.

Read more about the practical use of AI in image analysis in our article AI in diagnostics: three examples from radiology.

„The third DigitalRadar survey impressively demonstrates that digitalization has made great strides in recent years. However, when looking at the individual dimensions, one thing stands out: telehealth is still lagging behind. This is understandable, since telemedicine connectivity requires that the technical infrastructure already be in place within the organization - and many hospitals have only just established that infrastructure. The next step is to make this infrastructure usable across facilities. With simple, managed cloud solutions, we take care of exactly this task for hospitals, without them having to set up their own complex interface landscape.“

Tobias Anger | Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | Telepaxx Medical Data GmbH

Despite strong improvements: Why telehealth needs to catch up

It comes as little surprise that telehealth is the weakest dimension in the DigitalRadar - and the reason is obvious: Telemedicine applications such as teleconsultations, teleradiology, or cross-site second-opinion procedures require a solid technical foundation. According to the third survey, hospitals have prioritized building precisely this foundation - structures, systems, and information exchange - in recent years. The logical next step is to now leverage this foundation for cross-facility collaboration as well.

Two reasons why, in practice, this is often still in its early stages:

Scarce IT resources and capacity limits: Telemedicine networks mean additional integration and support effort – especially for IT departments that are already working at capacity limits and are primarily occupied with day-to-day operations.
Lack of interoperability between establishments: Unlike with internal digitalisation, in telehealth it is not enough simply to modernise one’s own IT infrastructure – systems must also be able to interoperate with those of other hospitals, referring doctors or GP practices, and comply with the relevant standards. This adds a further layer of complexity.

Hospitals of all care levels can receive potential support for establishing telemedicine network structures and systems through the KHVVG transformation fund. You can read about which funding opportunities you can utilise here: KHVVG funding: The right Cloud PACS strategy for every hospital size.

Solution: Cloud-based telehealth – greater connectivity with minimal effort

The fastest way to expand telehealth does not involve yet another complex IT project, but rather cloud-based managed IT services. Technologies like the TMD Cloud provide precisely the cross-facility integration needed by telemedicine networks, teleconsultations or cross-location second opinion procedures:

Relieving the IT team of pressure: Responsibility for solution development, maintenance and update management of the IT infrastructure lies with the cloud provider. Your team is relieved of the burden and can focus on connecting new partner facilities and telehealth use cases instead of maintaining basic infrastructure.
Rapid integration – even across institutional boundaries: Cloud solutions are generally designed to be integrated quickly and easily into existing workflows. In the case of the TMD Cloud, its vendor-neutral approach in particular simplifies integration with legacy systems such as RIS/HIS or PACS.
High security standards: Modern cloud solutions, such as the TMD Cloud, meet the highest security requirements, which is confirmed by a C5 certificate from the BSI. ISO 27001 certification also confirms that the chosen provider applies the highest information security standards. This gives you the certainty that your patient data is always protected.
Flexible scalability: Thanks to web-based communication and the technical concept of cloud software, it can be flexibly supplemented and expanded, for example if more data is to be archived in the cloud or additional functionalities are required to digitize further workflows.

Still unsure whether the cloud could be the right solution for your hospital?

Here we explain 10 reasons for entering the medical cloud.

A practical example: the digitization of image transmission to patients and downstream healthcare facilities such as rehabilitation clinics or outpatient centers. DICOM data can be transferred directly from the cloud via QR code or web link as part of discharge management - without the time-consuming burning of patient CDs, from any workstation with Internet access and without a lengthy IT project.

Conclusion: The cloud helps to improve the DigitalRadar score

The third DigitalRadar survey makes it clear: the technological basis in German hospitals for further digitalisation has largely been created. The foundations have been laid, and even smaller hospitals have kept pace. At the same time, the survey also highlights the next important step in development: the newly created foundations must now be integrated into smooth, digital workflows in order to further improve patient care both within and across institutions. There is still room for improvement, particularly in the area of telehealth.

To close this gap quickly without overloading scarce IT resources, intelligent managed IT services from the cloud, such as TMD Cloud, are an ideal solution. This eliminates the need for complex, local interface projects. Instead, hospitals, radiological practices and referrer networks can connect securely, scalably and easily. The reason: instead of laborious point-to-point connections, a single connection via a standard interface to the cloud platform is all that is required, taking over the entire vendor-neutral data exchange.

This is how you can efficiently implement the requirements for digitalisation projects and continuously improve your DigitalRadar score.

Because at the latest with the final report on the third survey at the end of 2026, which is intended to provide deeper analyses by level of care and dimension, it will be crucial: who has translated the findings so far into concrete actions?

Would you like to learn more about the TMD Cloud?

Arrange a web demo with us to find out more about the functionalities and possible applications of the TMD Cloud.