Telematics is picking up speed again

26.04.2010 10:00

Last week, gematik's shareholders' meeting presented a kind of inventory of the development of the telematics infrastructure for the healthcare system and the introduction of the electronic health card

April 26, 2010

The moratorium imposed on the electronic health card by the BMG is showing its first effects: The shareholders' meeting of the gematik Last week, presented a kind of inventory on the development of the telematics infrastructure for the healthcare system and the introduction of the electronic health card and - according to gematik - "based on various constructive suggestions that were put forward by payers and service providers during the inventory, it made specifications for this “Further steps taken over the next few years.”
The most important thing: In the interests of greater efficiency, speed and reduction of complexity - of which there has been little noticeable so far - there should be a clear distribution of tasks and responsibilities in the future: the service providers will - according to gematik's ideas - be solely responsible for the future medical applications and the payers assume sole responsibility for the administrative applications.
The gematik shareholders' meeting also agreed to initially introduce three applications, with which benefits could be achieved for everyone involved right from the start. As of now, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds is responsible for the introduction of online-supported master data management for insured persons, the German Medical Association is responsible for the introduction of an emergency data record on the eGK and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians is responsible for the addressed communication of service providers. The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, together with the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, will be responsible for the overarching task of the basic telematics infrastructure. It is planned that the responsible shareholders will formulate the requirements for the telematics infrastructure and the applications from the perspective of the shareholders and control the implementation by gematik so that the projects can be advanced to such an extent in the next few months that tenders can be issued by gematik. Another agreement concerns the improvement of the decision-making structures: In the future, when controversial decisions are made, Dr. Klaus Theo Schröder, former State Secretary, mediates between the different interests. The general meeting of the German Society for Insured Persons and Patients (DGVP) unanimously decided on the functional transformation into a citizens' initiative for health. Furthermore, corresponding adjustments to the statutes were unanimously approved.