The starting date for ePrescriptions in Germany was set for July 1, 2021, but there are now doubts as to whether this date can be met in terms of the time frame. Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn has entrusted gematik with the development, but it is currently seeking help for the underlying technical infrastructure from private sector companies. The gematik tenders are already underway. It could be that the conditions for the tenders – limited in two lots for four years with extension options – could be fulfilled by the company eHealth-Tec of the Swiss parent company Zur Rose. They are already cooperating with the Techniker Krankenkasse. The second participating company – there are to be between three and a maximum of five providers – is the Stuttgart accounting center Optica, a subsidiary of Apobank. Optica is already involved in the MORE project in Hessen. The providers should therefore have all the experience in the field of ePrescription technology and be able to offer a certain amount of know-how for rapid provision. The complete tender is divided into two lots in order to maintain all required data protection guidelines. One lot is the eRecipe specialist service, which is the core of the eRecipe technology. It is, so to speak, the repository of all policyholder and prescription data. The technical specification is provided by gematik. The challenge is to process and handle the entire volume of prescriptions throughout Germany. Security and performance are other important factors, as is the existence of data centers with the necessary geo-redundancy, which is only provided if two different data centers are at least 200 kilometers apart, for example if maintenance work or a natural disaster could override one of the two centers. This means that there will soon be two eRecipe memories. The second lot is the directory service and the identity provider, which uses an authentication module to recognize users with Smartcard access. The number one criterion for success, however, is adherence to the schedule, as the award is expected to be made quickly. Then, however, it is a matter of conception and planning, before approval tests are due by March 1, 2021, at the latest, following the system integration with other TI systems during development. Product approval is dated June 1 of next year and commissioning is scheduled for June 23, 2021, until the official go-ahead is given a week later if everything goes smoothly.
