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Usernames, PINs, passwords – ideally, all the access data we have is different. With the Health ID, this is becoming easier, at least in the healthcare sector: with this digital ID card, you can register quickly, easily and securely for applications such as e-prescriptions or electronic patient files (ePA).
What is the HealthID?
The health ID is your digital identity in the healthcare system, which you can use to access electronic healthcare applications such as the electronic patient file (ePA) easily and securely. It is a kind of ID card that allows every voluntary user to identify themselves in healthcare apps. To do this, you need a mobile device.
As a digital identity, the Health ID is individual for each person and central for your use of the ‘AOK Mein Leben’ app. It enables you to access your ePA and the data and documents stored in it securely.
What is the difference between the Health ID and the ePA?
Put simply, the ePA is like a secure safe in which all important documents are stored. This could be information about previous illnesses, medication plans, findings or the immunisation record, for example. Doctors' surgeries and hospitals can view and use these documents if you authorise this. The health ID, on the other hand, is something like a code to this safe. Without a key, you have no access to the contents. However, it is important to know that the HealthID is not a must in order to be able to manage the ePA. It is merely a secure access option.
What are the advantages of the HealthID?
In the future, the health ID will give you access to further digital applications in the healthcare sector. From 2026, it can also be used as an alternative to the electronic health card (eGK) as proof of insurance, for example at your doctor's office.
How do I create and use the health ID?
Use of the health ID is voluntary. However, registration of the ID is required to log in to protected services such as the ‘AOK Mein Leben’ app.
You can use the AOK Ident app to create and manage your health ID. The first step is to log in to your ‘AOK Mein Leben’ app with your insurance number. You will then be redirected to the ‘AOK Ident’ app.
If you have not yet downloaded this, you will also have the option to do so via the redirect. Finally, log in to the AOK Ident app with your email address and register your health ID there.
The sub-item ‘Health ID in Ident app’ can then always be found quickly on the home page of your ‘AOK Mein Leben’ app.
How is data protection guaranteed with the GesundheitsID?
The security of your data is not only a particularly high priority with the ePA, but also with the Health ID. So that unauthorised persons cannot access your sensitive data under any circumstances, there is so-called 2-factor authentication. You assign an individual 6-digit code as part of the set-up process. This is device-bound and you always need the correct end device to access your data.
Furthermore, your ID can only be entered using a smartphone or tablet - and this in turn must be authorised using the fingerprint sensor or another password, for example. You must also regularly confirm your ID using your online ID card or electronic health card and the corresponding PIN. The data is stored and processed in encrypted form in a data centre in Germany, a so-called cloud, in accordance with European data protection regulations.