<b><i>Background/Objective:</i></b> To assess whether and how the use of scientifically established Web-based training videos for teaching correct inhalation technique in patients with chronic airway diseases has become accepted among the wider population. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The viewing trends of 141 freely available YouTube videos (full playing time, 01:31–04:37 min:s) provided by the German Respiratory League, covering a broad range of internationally prescribed devices, were analyzed over a 10-year period. Specific emphasis was placed both on German and international videos. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The total number of views was 3,350,678. Non-German videos (English, Russian, Turkish, Greek, Arabic, Farsi, and Slovakian) accounted for 23.2% of the views. The number of views steadily increased between 2011 and 2020 with a mean annual increase of 54.0% (range 24.5/119.9%) compared to the respective previous year. By 2020, the incidence of views per 100,000 German inhabitants was 725 for German videos only and 1,030 for all videos. In terms of the annual trend, there were two peak viewing periods, namely in spring and late fall, while the lowest amount of views occurred in summer. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This study highlights the rising impact of Web-based training videos used for teaching the correct use of inhalation devices, with a steady increase in the number of annual views and a clear seasonal peaking of views in spring and late fall.

While substantial advances in the proposition of patient education and self-management trainings in in-patient health care remain unquestioned, there are some deficits in actually performing such programs in clinical practice. Results also show that another question needs to be addressed: qualifying trainers. Less than half of trainers participating in this study reported to have absolved a train-the-trainer-course.

Gemeinsam die digitale Zukunft gestalten Vertreter*innen der Deutschen Atemwegsliga e. V., des Verbandes Pneumologischer Kliniken e. V. (VPK), von Alpha1-Deutschland e. V. und der Arbeitsgruppe eHealth des Fördervereins der Deutschen Atemwegsliga e. V. diskutieren im November 2020 im Rahmen eines Online-Workshops den gesundheitspolitischen Rahmen und Anwendungsmöglichkeiten von Telemedizin und Digitalen Gesundheitsanwendungen (DiGA) im Fachgebiet Pneumologie. Im Oktober 2020 hatte die Deutsche Atemwegsliga e. V. bereits eine Pressekonferenz unter das Thema Digitale Medizin in der Pneumologie gestellt.

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