Given the slow implementation of electronic patient records, the Green Party is warning of the failure of the digitization project and is calling on Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) to intervene quickly. "Every year, we lose a large number of lives due to the low level of digitization in our healthcare system," said Green Party health expert Janosch Dahmen to the Monday edition of the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. The CDU minister must push the "ePA" project forward with much more speed as a top priority.
The electronic patient record is a promise "of better care, more security, and an end to paperwork," said the Green Party politician. But this hope risks being dashed if the introduction now stalls under Warken.
Dahmen criticized the fact that, according to the major health insurance companies AOK, Techniker, and Barmer, apparently less than three percent of the 70 million electronic patient records created since the service was launched in April have been used in practice.
The low use of the records is not due to rejection, "but rather because the relevant content is missing," the health politician emphasized. "The promised applications such as lab results, doctor's letters, or vaccination records must finally arrive – otherwise the ePA will remain an empty promise."
The Federal Ministry of Health must also quickly implement improvements in the protection of sensitive data. "Insured persons must be able to control who sees what," Dahmen demanded. "And in practices and clinics, there must be crystal-clear regulations: access only for those directly involved – every access must be documented."
With the law passed during the last legislative period, the traffic light coalition created all the necessary conditions for secure and patient-friendly use. "Now it's up to the new minister to finally fulfill this promise with consistent implementation."
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