Electronic patient file: Doctors don't have to enter any data for now

As there is no longer a deadline by which the practice software for the new electronic patient file (ePA) must be ready for use, doctors are no longer obliged to fill the ePA with data. This means that doctors and psychotherapists do not have to fear any reductions in the TI flat rate or fees for the time being. For all primary systems and therefore for practices and hospitals throughout Germany, the ePA will only be launched after "positive experiences" from the model regions.

The model regions include practices in Franconia, Hamburg and the Kassenärztliche Vereinigungen Westfalen-Lippe and Nordrhein. Only when the BMG gives the green light will the obligation apply again. This was announced to the Ärztenachrichtendienst by the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung.

Recently, there was talk of a delay in the launch of the new electronic patient file, but the Federal Ministry of Health insists that the ePA will start for everyone from mid-January. The health insurance companies will then create an electronic patient file for all citizens – from newborns to the elderly, as Karl Lauterbach emphasized at yesterday's Bitkom Digital Health Conference.

The data from the electronic patient file is to be forwarded as a "data donation" to the Health Research Data Center at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. However, this is not a donation in the true sense of the word, as the data is transferred there automatically. According to Lauterbach, the data set could not be generalized with an opt-in. Among other things, the Health Data Utilization Act set the course for this.

First a quarry, then a goldmine

Initially, the electronic patient file was a quarry, according to Lauterbach. But with the amount of data that is generated every day, it is set to become a goldmine that will attract investment from pharmaceutical companies back to Germany. Big Tech is also already interested in the data and talks are underway. The EPAs have therefore been made "AI-ready" for this "fantastic industry". The aim is to train generative AI models in the medical sector.

However, the Chairman of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Andreas Gassen, believes that AI is overestimated in the healthcare sector. It cannot solve the shortage of specialists, but it can be a relief overall. He also emphasized, as did other doctors, that AI has already been playing a role for years. AI does not come for free either. The chips are expensive, "and what is often overlooked is that AI's hunger for energy is gigantic and therefore also extremely expensive". However, it is important to use digital tools for booking appointments and also in emergency care, as is planned with the emergency reform.

(mack)