[Digital health solutions during and after the COVID-19 epidemic]

Introduction: Before the COVID–19 pandemic, the uptake of digital health solutions had been hindered by regulatory and strategic gaps, but during the pandemic, the rapid adoption of digital tools became necessary. With the pandemic over, the regulatory conditions are now in place in Hungary to support the use of digital health solutions, while the imperative for digital solutions has diminished. The question is how patient interest and demand for digital solutions will change in this situation. Objective: In our two nationally representative population surveys, we sought to answer the question of how the COVID–19 pandemic affected the population’s usage patterns, attitudes and needs for digital health solutions. Methods: We compared the results of two national representative population surveys. The first survey was carried out in October 2021, during the COVID–19 pandemic, by interviewing 1,500 people over telephone. The second survey was conducted in February 2024 by interviewing 1000 people (+100 elderly boost sample) online. Both samples are representative of the Hungarian adult population by gender, age, education and municipality type. Data collection for both surveys was carried out by Ipsos Zrt. Results: The results of the two population surveys show that the frequency and method of searching for health information online has changed significantly. The proportion of people who did not search for information online at all continued to decrease. The popularity of websites for health-related internet use increased, while the interest in blogs, podcasts and social platforms decreased. Awareness and use of digital tools also increased, particularly for online appointment booking, healthcare data sharing and social media use. Positive perceptions of the effectiveness of care decreased slightly, while concerns about technological frustration also eased. Conclusion: As the COVID–19 pandemic passed, digital health regulations emerged and the use of digital health technologies became commonplace among the population. Awareness and use of digital technologies increased significantly, especially for online appointment booking, e-prescription and wearables. Concerns about the potential disadvantages of using digital tools decreased, while expectations of benefits did not change significantly, indicating a more realistic perception. Patients’ need for digitalisation has now become an integral part of their care, supporting a more informed and active engagement in the healing process. Orv Hetil. 2025; 166(10): 377–384.