Germany's hospitals have made substantial gains in digital maturity over the past five years, according to the initial results of the third nationwide DigitalRadar assessment, one of the largest longitudinal hospital digital maturity programs worldwide. Developed by a consortium set up by HIMSS, the program uses an assessment framework based on the HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model and related digital maturity methodologies.

DigitalRadar was launched in 2021 by the German Federal Ministry of Health as part of the Hospital Future Act (KHZG), a major national investment program designed to accelerate healthcare digital transformation.

The latest results show that the average DigitalRadar score of German hospitals increased from 33.3 points in the first assessment in 2021 to 55.0 points in 2026, representing a 65% improvement. Compared with the second assessment in 2024, digital maturity increased by almost 30%, demonstrating continued momentum across the sector.

A total of 1,531 hospitals participated in the third survey, providing one of the most comprehensive national datasets available for measuring healthcare digital transformation. More than 93% of hospitals that participated in the initial assessment took part again, enabling comprehensive tracking of progress over time.

The findings indicate improvements across all major dimensions of digital maturity, particularly in digital infrastructure, information exchange and clinical processes. Progress was observed across all hospital types and levels of care, with smaller hospitals showing particularly strong improvement in helping narrow previous digital maturity gaps. All 16 German federal states also improved compared with the previous DigitalRadar assessment.

"The results demonstrate that Germany's hospitals are making meaningful progress on their digital transformation journey," said Ronan O'Connor, Vice President and Managing Director, EMEA at HIMSS. "While investments in digital infrastructure are delivering measurable results, the next phase will focus increasingly on embedding digital capabilities into everyday clinical workflows and care delivery."

The final DigitalRadar report, including deeper analysis and international benchmarking, will be published later this year. The project continues to provide valuable evidence on how large-scale national digital health investments can accelerate hospital digital maturity and support data-driven healthcare transformation.