[Psychological psychotherapists' and physicians' perspective on perceived need for and prescription of digital health applications for mental disorders].

Since 2020, psychotherapists and physicians have been allowed to prescribe digital health applications for mental disorders (DHA-MD). The aim of the study was to examine the actual relevance of DHA-MD for mental health care by asking psychotherapists and physicians for their opinion on the need for DHA-MD and how often they actually prescribe them. Moreover, we wanted to identify reasons for (not) prescribing DHA-MD.In spring 2024, 1000 psychological psychotherapists and physicians registered by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Germany were selected stratified by region and community size. They received a self-developed questionnaire by post, which was additionally published online by, for instance, expert associations. Additionally, we conducted semi-structured interviews with selected participants. Questionnaires were analysed both descriptively and via Spearman's Rank Correlation Test. A qualitative content analysis according to Mayring was done for the interviews.In total, 321 participants filled out the questionnaires, and 16 were interviewed. The need for DHA-MD on a scale of 0-10 was rated≤2 (median 2) by 61% (n=198) of the participants. The median of DHA-MD prescriptions in a regular calender quarter was 0 with a range up to 20. The share of participants prescribing at least one PsyDiGA was slightly higher (n=23, 29%) among physicians compared to psychological psychotherapists (n=60, 25%). There was no difference in the assessment of need for DHA-MD between the two professions. According to the interviews, requirements for confidence in and prescription of DHA-MD comprised guaranteed data protection, sufficient proof of concept, and knowledge about the contents of DHA-MD.Reasons for the low number of prescriptions and perceived need for DHA-MD may be less experience with DHA-MD or a lack of perceived necessity in participants' practice routine. The demand for transparency concerning data protection, proof of concept, and content of DHA-MD show mental health professionals' expectations of high quality concerning DHA-MD.