Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is counting on rapid positive effects by launching electronic patient records (ePA) for all insured people at the beginning of next year. The Social Democratic Party politician in Berlin said at the start of a media campaign that the EPA would lead to better care and less bureaucracy. The General Practitioners Syndicate warned that the electronic file must be technically stable. Lauterbach explained that the practices’ software systems will have to work quickly with the EPA in the future.
According to a law passed by the Traffic Light Coalition, all insureds will have an EPA created by their health insurance company at the beginning of 2025 — unless they decline it. It is intended to serve as a digital memory of information related to medications, results and laboratory values and to accompany patients throughout their lives. The e-filing is scheduled to start on 15 January 2025, initially in two pilot areas in Franconia and Hamburg. It is expected to be available to patients, practices, clinics and pharmacies across the country after four weeks. E-filing was already introduced in 2021 as an optional offer that you have to take care of yourself. However, it has been rarely used so far.
