First experiences with the electronic patient file: opportunities and risks!

First experiences with the electronic patient file: opportunities and risks!

The digital future of healthcare is in full swing, especially here in Northern Germany. The electronic patient record (ePA) started its official ramp-up at the end of April and now offers both doctor's practices and clinics the opportunity to store findings and doctor's letters digitally. To date, use has been voluntary, but from October 1, 2023, this obligation will be mandatory for doctors. Dewezet reports that initial experiences are already being gained.

Specialists like Dr. Khalid Mahmood Khan, who has been using the ePA since the beginning of May, emphasizes that it initially brings relief. But he also warns that older patients in particular often have difficulty finding their way with the new system. Also Dr. Andreas Bertomeu, a general practitioner, is positive, but sees the use of the ePA as an additional burden. His practices still receive the majority of the results by fax - according to Bertomeu, that's 45 percent. In addition, too many different providers for patient management represent a major hurdle.

Current challenges in everyday practice

The exciting world of ePA also comes with its challenges. The software required to use the patient file remains a sticking point. For many practices, setting it up represents a real challenge. Due to the large number of providers, the transition is anything but easy. In addition, Bertomeu raises concerns that visibility of all health data could be problematic for some patients, as they can manage the records themselves.

For doctors who set up the electronic patient file, there is currently an extra payment for the initial filling. That sounds good at first, but reality shows that many practices are in the start-up phase and first have to get used to the new technology. Meanwhile, there are still some legacy problems to deal with - for example, drug prescriptions still have to be printed on a dot matrix printer because they cannot be recorded in the e-prescription system.

Rights of the insured

Another important aspect of the ePA is the control that insured persons have over their data. Loud Data protection MV The insured are not obliged to use the ePA and can object at any time - be it against the entire file or just against certain data. This is an important point for anyone who has concerns about their data sovereignty.

Insured persons also have the option of excluding certain doctors or medical facilities from the ePA data. The health insurance company is considered an important interface here: it maintains the billing data and ensures that it gets into the digital file. Even if there is a prospect that treatment data will be made available for research from mid-July 2025, it remains necessary for insured persons to be able to object to the use of their data for this purpose.

The first steps with the ePA show that many questions still remain unanswered. The development continues to be followed with interest, with many experts emphasizing the importance of comprehensive patient information in this context. Healthinformation.de offers valuable support in this regard, but does not replace a personal conversation with doctors. The discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the ePA is only at the beginning - there will definitely still be a lot of clarification needed.