bmg.bund.de Electronic Health Card Germany : Federal Ministry of Health

Name of the Organization : Federal Ministry of Health
Type of Facility : Electronic Health Card
Country : Germany

Website : http://www.bmg.bund.de/presse/english-version/health/the-electronic-health-card.html

Electronic Health Card :

Why have we introduced a new eHealth Card?:
Nowadays, the quality of medical treatment depends to a greater and greater extent on whether the doctor has all of the information necessary to provide his/her patient with the right medical care.

Related : Federal Office For Information Security Electronic ID Card Germany : www.statusin.org/7872.html

If the patient so wishes, the eHealth Card, together with an electronic health care network (telematics infrastructure) that is separate from the internet, will be able to make the health data needed for treatment available safely and rapidly in the future. The aim is to improve the quality of medical care, strengthen the role of patients and reduce costs.

In the meantime, almost all of the insured community have been issued with their personal eHealth Card. Every person who has received an eHealth Card is required to submit it as proof of entitlement when seeking a doctor’s or dentist’s services. From 1st January 2015, the new eHealth Card will be the only admissible proof of entitlement to medical and dental benefits and services.

What will change when you go to the doctor?:
At the outset, nothing changes for patients when they visit their doctor. Experience shows that the eHealth Card can be scanned just as easily as the previous health card. Doctors, dentists and hospitals are equipped with modern card readers that were financed by the health insurance funds.

What possibilities does this new eHealth Card offer?:
The applications that go along with the new eHealth Card will be introduced gradually. In an initial step, administrative data relating to the insured person, such as their name, date of birth, ad-dress as well as health insurance data including their personal health insurance number and insurance status (member, affiliated family member or retiree) have been stored.

The eHealth Card carries a photograph. Exceptions are made only for young persons up to the age of 15 years and insured persons who are unable to co-operate in the taking of a photograph, such as immobile patients in need of long-term care.

The photograph helps to avoid the risk of confusion and serves to control the abuse of benefits and services. Another new aspect is the information regarding gender. Used in conjunction with the photograph, it is meant to rule out additional sources of confusion. The back of the eHealth Card can be used for the ‘European health insurance card’ and renders unbureaucratic treat-ment and health care possible within Europe.

Up-to-date information prevents abuse:
The next step will be an online comparison of the insured person’s master data that is stored on the eHealth Card with the data on the insured person that is actually at the disposal of the health insurance fund.

As a result, changes of which the insured person has already informed his/her health insurance fund, such as a change of address, can be automatically updated on the eHealth Card at the push of a button at the next doctor’s visit. The health insurance funds thus save money because they do not have to issue a new card.

A the same time, invalid cards – as well as cards that have been reported as lost or stolen – can be more easily recognised. This will help to continue to reduce instances of the system being abused at the expense of the community of the insured. An up-to-date eHealth Card automatically ensures up-to-date information at the doctor’s office.

Main utility lies in medical applications:
The main utility of the new eHealth Card lies in its medical applications that are voluntary for the patient. Patients can benefit from the emergency data stored on the card, for example. If emergency treatment becomes necessary or a patient needs to be referred to a specialist by his/her family doctor, it is important that the attending physician has quick access to information on allergies, implants, chronic diseases or medication.

An increasing number of persons are taking an increasing number of medicines at the same time. This is why it is vital for the physician to have access to information on all of the medicines his/her patient is taking. This can help to reduce unwanted adverse effects and drug interactions and to achieve greater drug treatment safety. The aim is to introduce medical applications as soon as possible.

What choices do insured persons have with regard to medical applications?:
Every insured person will decide for him/herself when the time comes, whether and to what degree they wish to make use of the new possibilities offered by the eHealth Card for storing medical data.

He/she will also decide whether, and to which degree, use is to be made of an application such as the emergency data, whether the card is to be used to document his/her willingness to donate organs, or whether the electronic patient record is used at a later stage. The prerequisite is that the applications prove themselves in practice and meet strict safety regulations.

Furthermore, patients will have access to their data and be able to print them or have them deleted. As was the case with the previous card, only the insured person’s administrative data is to be mandatorily stored on the eHealth Card.

How safe are my data?:
Major emphasis is being placed on data protection which is guaranteed by both statutory and technical means. The transmission of sensitive medical information does not take place through the internet but via a secure health network set up for this specific purpose. Medical data is encoded even before it leaves the doctor’s practice.

In the process, two safety precautions are in use simultaneously. Just like with a bank card, the insured patient determines who has access to the data by inserting his/her card into the card reader and entering a PIN code. Unlike the bank card, however, a second safety precaution then comes into play.

The doctor in question requires his/her health professional identification card to obtain final access. Only in an emergency situation can a doctor gain direct access to the emergency data with the use of his/her medical professional identification card, without the patient entering the PIN code.

These data protection measures provide a great deal of protection for sensitive medical data. They are constantly being further developed technically and are closely co-ordinated with the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.

Three good reasons for the eHealth Card:
** Better quality of medical care thanks to better information on medical data
** More data protection and self-determination for patient
** More efficiency and less bureaucracy