Acceptance and Perceived Benefits of Digitalization by Medical Assistants

The items assess the adoption and acceptance of telematic infrastructure (TI) in medical or dental practices. They collect data on the use of TI, its impact on daily operations, and its acceptance. These are example items for each category:

• Is your medical office connected to the Telematics Infrastructure (TI)? (Answer options: "bot at all", "some days", "more than half of the days", "almost every day")
• Does the TI connection run smoothly without causing disruption to your practice operations? (Answer options: "not at all", "some days", "more than half of the days", "almost every day")
• Do you know if your (dental) office management fundamentally rejects a TI connection? (Answer options: "I strongly disagree", "I disagree", "I agree", "I strongly agree", "I don't know")

The items assess the frequency of patients' inquiries about various digital health applications and services. These are example items:

• How often have been asked by patients about an e-prescription? (Answer options: "not at all", "some days", "more than half of the days", "almost every day")
• What topics are you most frequently asked about by your patients? (Answer options: "online medical consultation", "eAU", "e-prescription", "ePA", "digital health apps (DIGAs)", "fitness trackers like smartwatches")

The perceived benefits of IT are measured through self-report

The items assess the participants' awareness and knowledge of digital health tools and their ability to access and comprehend health-related information. Example items are:

• Have you heard of TI applications such as eAU, KIM, e-prescription, ePA, etc.? (Answer options: "I strongly disagree", "I disagree", "I agree", "I strongly agree", "I don't know")
• Have you heard of "ePA for all"? (Answer options: "I strongly disagree", "I disagree", "I agree", "I strongly agree", "I don't know.") If yes, do you feel well-informed enough to answer questions from patients about it? If no, do you know the informational materials for the waiting room or from another source such as gematik, e.g., regarding e-prescription?
• Do you know the three redemption methods for the e-prescription? (Answer options: "I strongly disagree", "I disagree", "I agree", "I strongly agree", "I don't know")

The items assess how healthcare professionals prefer to access information related to their work and digital health applications. Example items are:

• How often do you actively search the internet for information about digital applications? (Answer options: "never", "almost never", "sometimes", "almost daily", "daily")
• On which platforms do you seek information when looking for details about digital health applications? (Answer options: Facebook, Facebook group, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Xing, other)
• How do you prefer to inform yourself about applications related to your work? (multiple answer option)