Digital revolution in healthcare: EPA comes on January 15th!

From January 15, 2025, the electronic patient file (EPA) will be introduced for all legally insured persons in Germany. General practitioner Stefan Spieren supports digitization in healthcare and sees the EPA as a significant improvement in patient care. He emphasizes that the EPA can make it easier to visit the doctor and lead to better care for patients.

Spoing further explains that the EPA simplifies processes, saves time and avoids double examinations. Access to the EPA takes place by reading the health card in practice, which describes the use as intuitive and user -friendly. An information event on the EPA will take place on January 8th, both on site and online, and is supported by experts and representatives of the health insurance companies.

solution solution and safety aspects

The introduction of the EPA will also be connected to a resolution of opposition (opt-out) within the framework of the digital law (digig). From the date mentioned, health insurance companies create an EPA for each legally insured, with the aim that 80 percent of the insured will have such a file by 2025. The EPA can be fully usable immediately according to its system and offers the insured several ways to object, whether against the use or against the access of certain medical facilities to their EPA data.

In addition, the data of the EPA must be made available for certain research purposes, unless the insured person is in favor. The automated transmission of performance data from the health insurance and electronic recipes to EPA is also carried out, provided there is no contradiction. However, the extensive use of the EPA depends on the software stand of the practices and clinics, and complete activation is expected until the middle of 2025. Spelling emphasizes that sensitive data is only recorded with the consent of the patient.

Further information on the EPA and the associated aspects are under siegener-zeitung.de and bundesaerzetammer.de