ePA: 18 million people in the test regions have a

Around zenh days ago, the electronic patient file was officially launched in the model regions. The statutory health insurance funds have now created one for around 18 million people. This is according to a new Gematik dashboard, which publishes figures on the expansion of the telematics infrastructure (TI) –, also known as the health data highway –.

"The first people have already had positive experiences," says Florian Hartge, one of Gematik's managing directors, in an interim summary on LinkedIn. Nevertheless, the company is aware of the problems that may arise, for example if more people have an ePA and it becomes more widespread. "We are already collecting feedback, especially in the area of technical problems, in order to improve the systems step by step," says Hartge.

Florian Fuhrmann, another managing director of Gematik, drew attention to the fact that the launch of the electronic patient file could also have a negative impact on existing TI applications such as the e-prescription or the electronic certificate of incapacity for work.

Fixing security gaps before nationwide rollout

At the end of 2024, security researchers found numerous security flaws in the electronic patient record at the 38th Chaos Communication Congress. It is still unclear whether there is now a security update for the electronic patient file. There is currently a whitelisting system that only allows certain doctors or pharmacists to access patient files.

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Electronic patient file: initial experiences with the revised ePA app

(mack)