Data on the electronic health card

What information comes to the electronic health card

24/11/2013

From 1 January 2014, the time has come: the electronic health card (eGK) becomes mandatory. Only personal data should be stored on the card without further consent. However, the eGK is designed to ensure that even highly sensitive patient data can be recorded in the future.

Years of delays
The electronic health card (eGK) should replace the health insurance card (KVK) valid since 1995 already in 2006. However, technical problems as well as policy discussions on necessity and data security delayed the introduction for years. Now it is to be the first of January 2014 but so far and the old KVK loses its validity. The data protection concerns about the new card have been an issue since their planned introduction.

Intervention on the right of self-determination must be accepted
So also for an insured person from Berlin, who filed a legal protection request to oblige his health insurance company to issue him a certificate of his insurance coverage, which he could use instead of the eGK. He justified this among other things with the public criticism of the map and that he the „biometric hospital cards“ do not want to use. But he was subject to legal and the Social Court justified his decision by saying: „The general interest in the presentation of the photograph and the storage of the data considerably outweighs the individual interest of the applicant. The associated interference in the right to informational self-determination must be accepted. The mandatory personal data does not concern any personally or sensitive circumstances of the insured person.“

Initially only master data on the map
In future, the eGK will simplify the exchange of medical data and patient data. However, many functions are still in the planning phase and will not be available at the beginning of 2014. Initially, only the insured person's master data is stored on the card, such as name, address, date of birth, insurance status and copayment status. But in the future, additional information such as electronic patient records, organ donation, emergency data and electronic prescriptions could be stored on the microprocessor. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, this information must be stored encrypted and protected against unauthorized access. In addition, except for electronic prescriptions, all other information is voluntary.

Data according to the Social Code
According to the Social Security Code, the electronic health card must be able to record information about medical data as necessary for emergency care. In addition, findings, diagnoses, treatment recommendations and treatment reports in electronic and machine-usable form must be stored for a cross-facility, case-related cooperation (electronic doctor's letter). In addition, data on the examination of drug therapy safety and on findings, diagnoses, therapeutic measures, treatment reports and vaccinations for cross-case and multi-patient documentation about the patient (electronic medical record).

Bad experience in Austria
Everything that can go wrong with the introduction of the electronic health card is shown by the example in Austria. There, some years ago, the reading system was partially completely exhausted and the doctors therefore had to note the billing data of their patients by hand. A representative of the Main Association of Social Security was quoted in press reports at the time as saying: „We have a so-called super-GAU.“ When „a disaster“ a medical representative called the Austrian eCard. As the ORF reported, the card would also have the status of many patients wrongly „not insured“ displayed. (Ad)