With more than five million euros in funding from the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), the nationwide innovation fund project “MIGRA-MD – Structured Specialist Migraine Care – Multimodal and Digital” was launched on 1 March 2026. The aim is to close gaps in migraine care in Germany and to achieve more guideline-compliant, individualized treatment through digital support and multimodal education. Over the next 1.5 years, 1000 adult patients with moderate to severe migraines are to be enrolled in the study.

The project is coordinated by the LMU Klinikum München under the direction of PD Dr. Ruth Ruscheweyh (DMKG Presidium Member) and the German Migraine and Headache Society (DMKG). Among others, the University Medical Center Rostock, the Technical University of Dresden, the University Medical Center Greifswald, the Professional Association of German Neurologists and, as consortium funds, BARMER and AOK Bayern are involved. The MigräneLiga e.V. supports as a cooperation partner.

Migraine is one of the most common diseases in young and middle adulthood and often significantly affects the quality of life of those affected. Despite effective treatment options, many patients do not receive optimally coordinated treatment. MIGRA-MD therefore relies on a combination of digital tools, structured training and patient-centered information.

Participating specialists are trained by the DMKG and receive a clear summary of patient-entered data as well as checklists for guideline-compliant diagnostics and drug therapy in the extended physician portal of the DMKG Headache Register. Patients document their headaches digitally via the DMKG app and a standardized questionnaire. They complete three treatment appointments with participating neurologists and use the new online platform “MIGRA-MD Wissen” at the same time. It offers short videos, audios and instructions on migraine triggers, non-drug prevention (stress reduction, relaxation techniques, exercise) as well as regular “meet-the-expert” live events with Q sessions.

The technical infrastructure – including the extension of the DMKG app, the doctor portal, the recruitment portal and the knowledge platform – was designed and implemented by the Institute for Information Systems (iisys) at Hof University of Applied Sciences and the spin-off smartlytic GmbH. The team from Hof brings expertise in digital health applications, data management and data protection. Hosting, maintenance and operation are handled by smartlytic GmbH. The architecture is designed in such a way that successful components can be transferred to standard care in the future.

Recruitment began on March 1, 2026 and is open to people with statutory health insurance aged 18 and over with 4 to 25 headache days per month who have tested a maximum of two prophylactic medications without success. Interested parties check their suitability on https://mitmachen.migra-md.de. Suitable candidates will be contacted and informed by the LMU Hospital. The study comprises 13 months including follow-up; Participants will be randomized into an immediate and a delayed treatment group.

If the evaluation shows a sustainable reduction in headache frequency and impairment of everyday life, a transfer to standard care should be sought.

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MIGRA-MD – Structured specialist migraine care – multimodal and digital

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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