For the stationary pharmacies in Germany, networking to the telematics infrastructure (TI) has been mandatory since September 30 of this year. All pharmacies in this country are gradually being networked for faster and less complicated data exchange – also with other players in the healthcare system – always while preserving the sensitivity of patients‘ personal health data. As of January 1, 2021, the electronic patient file (ePA) will become mandatory as part of the TI, so that all parties involved in the healthcare system will have access to care-relevant information at all times, in compliance with all security standards. This serves to improve the quality of medical care for patients. The first function to be implemented as part of the ePA is then the electronic medication plan (eMP), which contains all important information on drug treatment on a voluntary basis. The introduction of electronic prescriptions (ePrescriptions) is scheduled for January 1, 2022, and is therefore mandatory.
Pharmacies that now have to join the TI connection need four components for this, without which the system will not work:
1. a so-called institution ID card, abbreviated as SMC-B, is required to identify the pharmacy It opens the door to TI.
2 An electronic health professional card, abbreviated eHBA, is also necessary.
3. a connector, which works like a DSL router but is much more secure, is supplied by the pharmacies‘ merchandise management provider. A so-called VPN access service guarantees the connection.
4. a card reader, also available from the merchandise management provider, reads the eHBA and the patient’s electronic health card (eGK).
The pharmacy receives the identification cards listed under points 1 and 2 via the respective state chamber of pharmacists, where the SMB-C and the eHBA must also be applied for. Only authorized card manufacturers are involved in the process, such as the company of the Bundesdruckerei Group, D-TRUST GmbH.