Serious breakdown in electronic health card

Punctured introduction of the new electronic health card

06/24/2012

The introduction of the controversial electronic health card (eGK) has resulted in a serious breakdown. Millions of electronic health cards have not been provided with the required personal identification number (PIN). Critics of the eGK are outraged, as they had considerable doubts about the data security of the new health insurance cards anyway.

Around two million electronic health cards need to be replaced in the coming months due to the missing personal identification number (PIN). Insured at 55 different health insurance companies are affected. However, according to the association of statutory health insurance, there is currently no risk in terms of data security. The PIN will only be required when the online operation of the new system starts at the end of 2013. Therefore, all faulty cards should be replaced before this date.

Concerns about privacy, especially regarding the patient record
Security risk or not - the issue of deficient electronic health cards is a serious blunder. Although promises the manufacturer, the cashier service „itsc“, to replace the defective copies quickly, but the damage to the image is enormous. One of the main criticisms of the eGK has always been insufficient data protection. The personal identification number is one of the key elements to prevent inadmissible access to the stored data. In addition, the card readers provide that treating physicians must identify with their health care credentials before the data can be read. Information on the health insurance, a photograph, name, date of birth, gender and the address of the insured are to be stored on the eGK. In addition, the previous plans provide for the storage of further information such as the organ donation readiness, existing living wills and the electronic health record. However, many data security critics have expressed considerable concerns, particularly with regard to the patient record. Although this would facilitate the communication between the treating physicians significantly, but could also provide third-party access to the sensitive data illegally, complained, for example, the experts for electronic data security of the Chaos Computer Club.

Initiation of the electronic health card for the time being put on ice?
Since October of last year, the new electronic health insurance cards have been sent to 70 million legally insured persons. The establishment of the required new card readers has already begun in the medical practices. Although so far also a procedure before the social court Duesseldorf runs against the introduction of the eGK. The plaintiff sees his claim to privacy violated. On June 28, the case is scheduled to begin. Nevertheless, the insurance companies continue to push for the introduction of the eGK on the gas, which may also provoked careless mistakes, such as the current glitch provoked with the missing personal identification number. Although the manufacturer emphasized that the currently delivered eGK are faultless, but critics of the electronic health card, such as Erwin Lotter (FDP), spoke out in view of the serious breakdown, „to put the project immediately on ice and to decide on the fate of the already beloved card only, when all technical and not least legal questions on data protection are finally clarified.“ A perfectly comprehensible approach, especially as a court decision against the eGK may have made all costs incurred so far superfluous. (Fp)

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