Post a Comment Print Share on Facebook

Lauterbach's idea is good, the implementation is better

The Federal Minister of Health has found a new project that is close to his heart: Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to revolutionize the almost prehistoric-looking health system and, among other things, simplify the use of health data, i.

- 23 reads.

Lauterbach's idea is good, the implementation is better

The Federal Minister of Health has found a new project that is close to his heart: Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to revolutionize the almost prehistoric-looking health system and, among other things, simplify the use of health data, i.e. digitize it. By the end of 2024, electronic patient records are to be introduced as mandatory, and electronic prescriptions are also coming.

The said electronic patient file, known as ePa, has actually been available in Germany since 2021 - only nobody really noticed during the pandemic. Among other things, because hardly anyone went to the doctor, the registration took a long time and there was a lack of information at all ends.

This is so necessary, because many of the advantages of Lauterbach's plans are not clear to most: Missed the recipe? No problem, it's saved on the health card. What was the name of Doctor Anybody's drug? Ah, it's in the electronic file on the cell phone. Transfers by fax or reports on CD-ROM? Obsolete because digitally stored. Wouldn't that be appropriate nowadays?

Now, Germans are very skeptical per se when someone asks for their data – and rightly so. And what information would be more intimate than your own health data? Therefore, data protection concerns should be taken seriously and resolved before electronic patient records become mandatory. That is what the minister should focus on. It must also be ensured that everyone can control access to their data: the data belongs in the hands of the patient.

That is why the opt-out solution, with which a patient can only object afterwards, is the wrong way, similar to the debate about organ donation. You won't be able to convince a skeptic with coercion. The first plans for the digital patient file are around 20 years old – we should now also take the time for these debates. The idea of ​​the electronic patient file is good, the implementation is better.

Avatar
Your Name
Post a Comment
Characters Left:
Your comment has been forwarded to the administrator for approval.×
Warning! Will constitute a criminal offense, illegal, threatening, offensive, insulting and swearing, derogatory, defamatory, vulgar, pornographic, indecent, personality rights, damaging or similar nature in the nature of all kinds of financial content, legal, criminal and administrative responsibility for the content of the sender member / members are belong.