The electronic patient file: opportunities and risks of digital medicine are 'fact!'

The electronic patient file: opportunities and risks of digital medicine are 'fact!'

The e-recipe has found its way into Germany's pharmacies and has already caused some problems. There were system failures and there were also technical problems in the doctor's practices. The electronic patient file (EPA) is now to be introduced in half a year. The EPA is intended to find findings, doctor's letters and medication plans and also include the data of the glasses pass, bonus booklet and vaccination card. The goal is that each doctor's office can quickly access the necessary data and that double examinations are avoided. The idea sounds promising, but there are also concerns about the safety of the patient data and the feasibility of the system in the doctor's practices.

The introduction of the EPA is not undisputed. Data protection officers and those affected are concerned about the safety of their data. The necessary technology in doctor's practices is expensive and often still prone to errors. In the pharmacies, too, additional effort is feared by the EPA. However, it should be emphasized that many neighboring countries have been working successfully with such systems for years.

The question remains: What do patients have from the electronic patient file? And how high are the actual risks? These questions will be on the program "Fact is!" discussed in Dresden. Moderator Andreas F. Rook will talk to various guests about it.

table with information on related topics:

| Topic | Information |
| ————- | —————————————————- |
| E-recipe | Has already caused technical problems in pharmacies |
| Data protection | Affected and data protectionists are worried |
| Technology | Necessary technology in medical practices is expensive and prone to errors |
| Neighboring countries | Many neighboring countries are already working with similar systems |

Source: mdr middle German radio/ots