New law - Green light for e-prescription and digital patient file - Lauterbach praises "quantum leap for Germany"
After years of delays, electronic prescriptions and digital patient records are to be introduced into widespread everyday use. This is provided for in a law passed by the coalition government on Thursday . Accordingly, e-prescriptions are to become standard and mandatory for practices at the beginning of 2024. At the beginning of 2025, all people with statutory health insurance are to receive electronic files for health data such as findings and laboratory results - unless they refuse to do so themselves. The use of combined health data for research is also to be made possible in future.
Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) spoke of a quantum leap with which Germany must now finally catch up with digitalization in the healthcare sector. Until now, important data has been distributed across the servers of practices and hospitals where patients were treated in the past. "This cannot be allowed to continue." The new regulations would have very specific benefits for patients. The treatment options for doctors would be improved.
Daten der elektronischen Patientenakte helfen zB Krebspatienten und der Krebsforschung. Sie landen nicht, wenn man das nicht will, bei Pharmafirmen. Mit solchen Verschwörungstheorien wird der Fortschritt blockiert. Sind die Blockierer selbst krank wollen sie aber alle Medikamente https://t.co/jzIr0xhVbG
— Prof. Karl Lauterbach (@Karl_Lauterbach) December 14, 2023
Lauterbach on e-prescriptions: "Breakthrough for research to improve care"
According to the law, health insurance companies are to set up an e-file for all people with statutory health insurance by January 15, 2025 - unless they object. The file is to be a personal data memory and accompany patients throughout their lives with all doctors. The e-file is to be accessible with certain identification rules via health insurance apps. It was already introduced as an optional service in 2021, but has hardly been used to date.
E-prescriptions have been available in pharmacies for some time instead of the usual pink slips of paper. The law now makes it mandatory for doctors to issue prescriptions electronically from January 1, 2024. A second law will make it possible to link data from different sources - such as cancer registers and health insurance companies - at a central access point. Data is to be encrypted (pseudonymized). Lauterbach said that this would be a breakthrough for research in order to improve care.
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The law, passed by the Traffic light coalition in the Bundestag, aims to introduce electronic prescriptions and digital patient records widely by 2024 and 2025, respectively. Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) hailed this as a "quantum leap" for Germany in digitalizing healthcare, highlighting the potential benefits for patients and doctors. This shift will also facilitate research to improve care, as highlighted by Lauterbach in a recent tweet. Despite its potential, the use of electronic patient files has been limited so far, with many opting not to use it.
Source: www.stern.de
