Digitalization in the healthcare sector - what does that mean?

The use of digital technologies improves healthcare: Because all information is available in one place and can be shared for the benefit of optimal therapy. We explain the benefits of digitalization in the healthcare sector for you.

The "Act on Secure Digital Communication and Applications in Healthcare" came into force back in 2015. The so-called E-Health Act has set the course for the technically fluent administration of insured persons' master data. This includes:

• name
• date of birth
• address
• gender
• gealth insurance status

It is also about recording and storing vital emergency data, electronic doctor's letters and medication plans. With a standardized IT basis, general practitioners, specialists, hospitals, psychotherapists and pharmacies can exchange information with each other more quickly and offer video consultations, for example in the context of telemedicine, subject to strict data protection requirements.

The E-Health Act describes how and with which technology data may be exchanged between the individual parties involved in the healthcare system. The technical term for this technology is telematics infrastructure. It is a kind of data highway that makes applications such as the Electronic Health Card (eGK), the Electronic Patient Record (ePA) and the electronic certificate of incapacity for work (eAU) possible in the first place.

From the insured person's point of view, there are many advantages: If you are being treated by different doctors, they have to talk to each other to agree on the right treatment. In the past, doctors had to rely on telephone, fax, post or e-mail. This sometimes took a very long time and slowed down treatment or led to unnecessary duplicate examinations. Medical histories and courses of illness had to be told and documented several times. In addition, sensitive patient information - such as faxes - was not well protected from prying eyes. Now this communication is highly encrypted and takes place in a matter of seconds via the telematics infrastructure, to which all medical practices in Germany must be connected. In future, treatment-related information can be stored in your Electronic Patient record (ePA), as can X-ray images or laboratory results. This transparency requires your passive consent - in other words, if you do not object, your consent is deemed to have been given. With the help of digitalization in the healthcare system, you as an insured person will be spared many unnecessary trips, copies and additional doctor's appointments in future.

The aim here is to make the health data of German insured persons available anonymously and only on request for research purposes. The basis for this is the Health Data Utilization Act, which came into force in March 2024. The data used for research projects is subject to a strict confidentiality obligation. The data release of the information stored in the ePA is automated under pseudonyms so that no conclusions can be drawn about the individual insured person. For their part, the health insurance funds may actively approach their policyholders if the research findings or the billing data have provided helpful information for particularly useful individual preventive check-ups. This is the case, for example, if the data analysis indicates a particular risk of cancer in a specific patient group. It also paves the way for timely reminders about recommended vaccinations.

The Digital Act regulates the framework conditions for the Electronic Patient Record (ePA), which will be introduced for all patients with statutory health insurance from the beginning of 2025. The aim is to simplify the day-to-day work of doctors and patients. The bundling of all personal health data in one place, managed digitally under high security requirements, will create more transparency for treating and insured persons. This also applies to medication plans, possible interactions, the exchange of e-prescriptions and the prescription and integration of digital health applications (DiGA). DiGAs are tested health apps that help you with preventive healthcare or recovery and whose costs can be covered by health insurance companies.

Digitalization in the healthcare sector is a major step towards new diagnostic and treatment methods. This benefits the insured community, but also you as an insured person, because personalized medicine can address your personal health problems in a much more targeted way. And, imagine how great it will be if you never have to look for your vaccination record again - because it can be accessed at any time as an electronic vaccination record (eVaccination record) via the ePA.

back