Daniel Bahr, speaking at the Capitol Hill Steering Committee on Telehealth and Healthcare Informatics briefing presented by the Institute for e-Health Policy, gave an in-depth picture and discussed his thoughts on the progress being made in Germany to advance eHealth.
Bahr, as the former Federal Minister of Health in Germany and now Visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress said, “In Germany, nearly 80 percent of physicians and hospitals are using IT systems. The use of highly sophisticated electronic equipment for diagnostics and therapy in Germany is the state-of-the-art in doctor’s offices and hospitals.
The introduction of the electronic health card (eGK) in Germany was one of the largest and most ambitious IT projects in the world when it was introduced last year. In Germany, doctors, 20,000 pharmacies and hospitals use eHealth cards for the 70 million people covered by the social health insurance system.
The eGK can only be used by insured individuals who make the decision on who will be allowed to access their data. Data can only leave a doctor’s office after being encrypted for transmission within the telematics infrastructure and only authorized persons may access the data of the insured.
In the future, it will be possible to update administrative data on the eHealth card online. Once operative, it will no longer be necessary to issue a new card, if a person’s address or other information changes. It will become easier to identify invalid, lost cards, or cards reported as stolen. Insured members can have emergency data stored on an optional basis along with relevant information on current medications, allergies, drug intolerances, pregnancies, and implants.
Another application envisioned in the future is the introduction of secure communication among service providers to replace snail mail. In addition, it will be possible for several institutions or medical professionals involved in the treatment of one patient to share records.
The Federal Ministry of Health launched the eHealth Initiative and is developing a number of practical measures to make it easier to incorporate new applications into standard care. One of these measures is called the criteria catalog that is to kick in at the early stage when a telemedicine project is developed.
Interoperability is also high on the list since there are more than 250 different IT systems in Germany. The need to effectively communicate is paramount but interoperability has a macro economic impact because it slows down the pace of growth in eHealth applications.
To find solutions, the Federal Ministry of Health commissioned a planning study released in January to solve existing interoperability challenges. Now there are procedural and structural options based on a comprehensive analysis of current situations. The aim of the study is to show how to create and further develop suitable interoperability standards for the German healthcare system.
For more information, email dbahr@americanprogress.org.