The introduction and test phase of the electronic patient file (ePA) is about to begin. On January 1, 2021, it will begin on a voluntary basis as an app with gradually increasing functions. The German healthcare system is facing a major challenge, as 200,000 service providers and a possible 73 million insured persons could soon benefit from the file, which at some point will have the potential to offer real added value for patients. However, the Green Party, in the person of health expert Maria Klein-Schmeink, has its doubts about this, as it misses essential and useful functions at the beginning and therefore believes that patients might not recognize the benefits of ePA. However, in order to meet the challenge, a gradual introduction of the file is needed that will allow insured persons to enter and manage personal health data. Nationwide coverage will come later, when all doctors‘ practices and hospitals are networked. From July 1, 2021, all technical components and services for doctors‘ offices will have to be installed to enable them to access the ePA. However, it is the patient who ultimately decides which data will be included in the file and who will have access to it. Physicians – as the ePA currently envisages – should not be able to set up individual data for the time being, which is something critics criticize in the test phase. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn wants to push ahead with digitization in this country and does not see any concerns about patient data protection, which the Federal Data Protection Commissioner Ulrich Kelber has criticized. The BMG does not consider these concerns to be appropriate. As of January 1, 2021, it will therefore be possible to manage not only doctor’s reports and X-rays, but also, gradually, other health data, including vaccinations, examinations for children and expectant mothers, and the dental bonus booklet. Nor will everything be perfect right from the start, because the comprehensive version in the refined form will be available by January 2022 at the latest. It is to be hoped that patients will recognize the advantages of ePa from the outset and that the file will not meet with rejection.
Source: Ärzteblatt