The research group focuses on user-centered development, acceptance, implementation, and effectiveness of digital healthcare services.
Mission
The central mission of the research group, led by Dr. Madlen Scheibe and located at the Center for Evidence-based Healthcare, is the evidence-based translation and implementation of digital healthcare services into everyday healthcare.
It provides answers to the key question: What are predictive parameters for successful transfer of innovation into medical practice with the aim to successfully implement effective digital health innovation in the healthcare system and thus improve the health of individuals and the population?
Driving the Future of Digital Healthcare
The work of the research group addresses three interwoven key areas that are critical for the successful and sustainable implementation of digital healthcare services. However, these areas have not yet been sufficiently researched. Our work aims to close this gap by generating the evidence needed for reliable and future-ready recommendations.
Implementing Core Outcomes Sets in Digital Health
In our research we address critical gaps in applying Core Outcome Sets (COS) to digital health interventions, exploring their validity, usability, and relevance in this rapidly evolving field. By aligning COS with the specific needs of digital tools, we can enhance patient-centeredness, evidence comparability and improve guideline development.
Shaping the Future of Digital Health Literacy
In our research we focus on digital health literacy as a key factor for equitable access, effective use, and positive outcomes in digital healthcare. By addressing the digital divide, evaluating the suitability of existing measurement tools, and developing targeted, participatory interventions, we aim to empower users and support the successful implementation of digital health solutions.
Timely Insights Through the Digital Health Panel
Our research group is establishing a regional Digital Health Panel to enable ongoing, up-to-date implementation research. Through regular surveys of a representative population sample, we generate vital insights into acceptance, usage, added value, and key drivers and barriers to the successful integration of digital healthcare solutions.
Dr. Lorenz Harst
Dr. Lorenz Harst is working in the field of digital health at the Center for Evidence-Based Healthcare (ZEGV) at the TUD Medical Faculty since 2017, focusing on both end user acceptance and effectiveness of digital health applications in patient care. He has profound methodological experience in participatory research as well as in clinical studies and data syntheses on effectiveness of (digital) health interventions.
He currently also coordinated the activities in the field of health systems research at ZEGV and runs the “Regionales Gesundheitspanel Sachsen” (GEPASA), which allows for in-depth analyses of the population perspective on, among others, digital health interventions. He has been involved in several projects of the Network University Medicine (NUM projects egePan Unimed and PREPARED) and regularly contributes to projects from the Innovation Funds run at the ZEGV (Mo²Regio, ImplementDiGA, BLICK). He is teaching methods of Evidence-based medicine at the TU Dresden’s model study for medicine in Chemnitz.
Dr. Lorenz Harst is speaker of the working group on science communication in the German Network of Health Services Research (DNVF) e.V. and a member of the working groups on digital health and qualitative research, focusing especially on mixed methods research.
Recent Publications
Sippli K, Deckert S, Schmitt J, Scheibe M (2025) Healthcare effects and evidence robustness of reimbursable digital health applications in Germany: A systematic review. npj Digit. Med (accepted)
Fesl S, Lang C, Schmitt J, et al. Factors influencing patients’ willingness to share their digital health data for primary and secondary use: A theory- and evidence-based overview of reviews. DIGITAL HEALTH. 2025;11. doi: 10.1177/20552076251340254.
Brückner, S., Sadare, O., Fesl, S. et al. Attitudes of healthcare professionals and researchers toward wearable and app derived patient generated health data. npj Digit. Med. 8, 186 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-025-01568-4
Mathiebe, J.; Müller, G.; Schmitt, J.; Brenner, S.; Winkler, S.; Schawohl, A.; Waurig, F.; Scheibe, M. How to Evaluate a Regional Telemedical Care Network Focusing on Critically Ill Children? Results from the Consensus-Based Development of an Evaluation Design. Children 2025, 12, 313. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12030313
Knapp A, Harst L, Hager S, Schmitt J, Scheibe M. Use of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures and Patient-Reported Experience Measures Within Evaluation Studies of Telemedicine Applications: Systematic Review, J Med Internet Res 2021;23(11):e30042, https://www.jmir.org/2021/11/e30042; DOI: 10.2196/30042
Digitale Gesundheitsinterventionen entwickeln, evaluieren und implementieren (Teil I) – Diskussionspapier der Arbeitsgruppe Digital Health des Deutschen Netzwerk Versorgungsforschung (DNVF); Sven Kernebeck, Madlen Scheibe, Monika Sinha, Florian Fischer, Andreas Knapp, Patrick Timpel, Lorenz Harst, Ulrich Reininghaus, Horst Christian Vollmar; Publication: Das Gesundheitswesen; Publisher: Georg Thieme Verlag KG; Nov 29, 2022
Digitale Gesundheitsinterventionen entwickeln, evaluieren und implementieren Teil II – Diskussionspapier der Arbeitsgruppe Digital Health des Deutschen Netzwerk Versorgungsforschung (DNVF); Sven Kernebeck, Madlen Scheibe, Monika Sinha, Florian Fischer, Andreas Knapp, Patrick Timpel, Lorenz Harst, Ulrich Reininghaus, Horst Christian Vollmar; Publication: Das Gesundheitswesen, Publisher: Georg Thieme Verlag KG, Nov 29, 2022
Contact
The research group is a cooperation of the Center for Evidence-Based Healthcare at the Dresden Medical Faculty and University Hospital and the Else Kröner Fresenius Center (EKFZ) for Digital Health.
Head of Research Group
Dr. Lorenz Harst
Team member
Pauline Kaboth, M. Sc.
Team member