Digital experts are demanding that “ePA for all” be enshrined in law now

02.11.2022 12:56

Digitalization experts are calling on the federal government to quickly enshrine in law that every insured person automatically receives an ePA - unless they object. In the opinion of the advisory board, legal concerns about a law on the so-called “opt-out procedure” for the ePA fall short. By accelerating the digitalization of the healthcare system, the state is fulfilling the fundamental rights obligation to protect life and health, according to the advisory board.

In his impulse paper “Enshrine opt-out for the EPA in law!” the Scientific Advisory Board for Digital Transformation of the AOK Nordost explains why the federal government needs to speed up the conversion of the ePA to an opt-out procedure as promised in the coalition agreement.

“Germany must hurry to implement the opt-out solution because the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. In 2022, patients can no longer walk around with stacks of papers, be examined twice and perhaps receive medications that interact with other medications. All of this could be significantly improved with a comprehensively available ePA,” says Inga Bergen. She is the spokesperson for the expert panel and has already set up two companies in the eHealth sector as CEO.

From the advisory board's point of view, medical research could also be advanced through a widespread ePA. From 2023, ePA users will have the opportunity to voluntarily donate their data. This could help in the future to be able to develop effective treatments for new diseases such as Long Covid more quickly than before.

In order to accelerate digitalization in the healthcare system in agreement with medical associations, health insurance companies and other parties involved, the Federal Ministry of Health started a strategy process in September. As part of this process, a law for the opt-out regulation of the ePA should also be developed. According to the BMG, the digitization strategy is to be presented in spring 2023.

The goal of Federal Health Minister Prof. Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is for at least 80 percent of those insured by statutory health insurance to have an ePA by 2025. According to the advisory board, without an “ePA for all” through the opt-out regulation, this ambitious goal seems to be unattainable: around two years after the start of the ePA in January 2021, there are loud reports TI dashboard of gematik Only around 0.7 percent of insured people have created an ePA from their health insurance company - usually in the form of an app that can be downloaded free of charge.

From the advisory board's point of view, constitutional concerns from data protection advocates against an opt-out regulation for the ePA can be refuted. The use of the ePA is currently purely voluntary and should remain so. The fact that insured persons who do not want an ePA will have to take action in the future does not change this. According to the advisory board, this system could be designed in such a way that all insured persons are clearly, unambiguously and easily understandable informed about the change in the law and the legal consequences associated with it.

The advisory board recommends regulating the technical and organizational options for individual use of the ePA in the planned law on the opt-out solution. “The important thing is: it has to be simple, it has to be understandable, and access has to be easily regulated so that the hurdle is not too big for the population to use the ePA. It also needs to be clarified whether the ePA is automatically filled with health data or whether approval is required in individual cases,” explains Inga Bergen. Objection to the use of the ePA should be possible by post or email, each with confirmation of receipt.

For the advisory board, the fact that insured persons will have to actively engage with the ePA in the future through an opt-out regulation is not only reasonable, but also serves social cohesion. Ultimately, a more digitalized health system is essential for the sustainable protection of life and health.

You can find a detailed interview on the position paper with advisory board spokeswoman Inga Bergen at our blog AOK Nordost Forum Live.

Caption: Scientific Advisory Board 2020: from left to right: Prof. Dr. Dirk Heckmann, Dipl.-Pol. Inga Bergen, Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Stefan Jähnichen, Dipl.-Psych. Marina Weisband, Prof. Dr. Dr. Walter Blocher, Prof. Dr. Wilfried Bernhardt, Prof. Dr. Stefan Heinemann (photo source: AOK Nordost)