Healthcare: Electronic patient files should do treatment better

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) expects a thorough improvements in diagnoses and treatments in Germany. The reason is the nationwide start of the electronic patient file (EPA) at the end of this month. “The electronic patient file makes the treatment better,” said the minister of the traffic light government in Berlin, which was soon out of office.

A memory for all health data

The day before, Lauterbach mentioned April 29 in a letter to the Gematik shareholders as the date for the nationwide possible use of the EPA. The Gematik, founded by the top organizations of the healthcare system, takes care of more digitization in the health sector as an agency. The pharmacies complained that this schedule is “a lonely decision from the Ministry”. But the management of the German Pharmacist Association assured that the date for the start of the nationwide EPA roll-out has been set-“and all 17,000 pharmacies will prepare for it”.

According to the pharmacists’ association, the interaction of the practices, pharmacies and hospitals must be reinforced in the start -up phase that then starts. From October 1st, doctors, clinics and other performance providers should then be obliged to use the EPA. Patients can object to use or limit them. In the EPA, doctor’s letters, findings, laboratory values ​​and medication plans are to be collected.

Lauterbach, in his own words, expects the avoidance of medication errors. “People die every day in Germany,” he said. Patients were also spared double examinations, i.e. a new X -ray, if such a recording from a different practice or a hospital is already available.

The security gap is closed

Lauterbach confirmed that a security gap raised by the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) last year had been remedied in good time before the start. This weak point could have made it possible to access all electronic patient files. Such a mass attack is now “technically no longer possible,” said Lauterbach. The Federal Office of Safety in Information Technology (BSI), with which his house had cooperated on the question, also confirmed this. Thus, only practices, clinics and pharmacies should actually have access to the sensitive data – only if the insured persons put their health insurance card in their reader.

Most of the legally insured persons have received an EPA from their health insurance since January 15. The EPA has already went into operation in three model regions in Germany.

In private health insurance (PKV), the introduction of the EPA is voluntary, as the PKV association announced. According to the association, the first private health insurers already offer their insured persons. The vast majority of private insured persons should then be able to use the EPA by the end of 2025. On the smartphone app of your respective insurer, you could set which facilities may access which data.

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