In future, Gematic as an agency of the Federal Health Ministry should enable the healthcare system to accelerate and hassle-free operation of telematics infrastructure and take strong action to achieve the same. In the past, Zematic lacked room for maneuver. But there is considerable criticism of the draft law – for example in relation to the dual role of Zematic. Although the financing of Gematic, or the future “digital agency for health”, is also controversial, its costs should be borne by health insurance companies and thus the insured;
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The purpose of this legislation is to strengthen the capacity of Gematic to function by expanding it as a digital health agency. Experts discussed how this should happen and what new tasks and process responsibilities the agency should take on in the future hearing in the bundestag Inquired.
Insured persons must finance the digital agency
Doris Pfeifer from the umbrella association of statutory health insurers criticized the funding of the Digital Health Agency. Since the last legislative period, the bulk of financing for the digitalization of the health care system has come from statutory health insurance companies.
“The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds should finance the GEMA budget,” Pfeifer said. Nevertheless, decision-making authority rests with the Federal Health Ministry. From the contributors’ perspective, it is “absurd that we have no opportunity to influence this company’s financing or increase the financing supply here.” In his view, the financial responsibility borne by the insured does not match the decision-making responsibility. Additionally, certain requirements will also have to be determined centrally.
Criticism of Zematic’s dual role
Melanie Wendling of the Federal Association of Health IT (BVITG) also sees Zematic’s diplomacy in danger because, on the one hand, it acts as a certifier and can also develop applications itself or contract for them. Is. This is unacceptable interference in the market. This gives Zematic a dual role which is unacceptable for Bvitg.
Dr. also criticized the role of Zematic. Verena Benz from Bitcom considers the digital agency’s extended powers as “excessive”. Providers have their own interest in preventing and eliminating disruptions to the telematics infrastructure, but excessive interference, even without further notice from Gematic, will hinder rather than promote troubleshooting.
There was also criticism from other quarters, such as Gabriel Overweening, president of pharmacists associations, for the planned dual role of the digital health agency. Together with the Federal Health Ministry, it will become a shareholder and legislator, but will also exercise oversight over shareholders and can, for example, distribute fines.
General practitioners demand unlimited EHR access
When SPD’s eHealth spokesperson Sebastian Meiwes asked whether doctors should have access to the electronic patient file for more than 90 days in the future, Nicola Bühlinger-Gopfarth of the Association of General Practitioners answered unequivocally yes. “Practices already have permanent access to treatment data. “Permanent access will also allow from a general practitioner’s point of view control and coordination performance of long-term doctor-patient relationships, which is currently only possible in. General practitioner area. Just consistently,” Buhlinger-Gopfarth explained. This way, urgent inquiries can be responded to immediately and information can be shared with others specifically involved in patient care – such as laboratories or pharmacies or doctors.
EPA registration is too complicated
For exchange of documents between different institutions, KIM and TIM services will be helpful if the technology works reliably. When asked whether regulation was still needed when registering for an electronic patient file with the health insurance company, Klaus Rupp, who was invited as an expert by Techniker Krankenkasse, said that it was too complicated. . Therefore many insured persons will not complete the registration.
“If you compare it to the banking sector, you see that you have other options and we are now making a much greater effort with health considerations and access to the EPA,” Rupp says. Therefore, in his opinion, a balance must be struck between data security needs and usability. To do this, it should be possible not only to reset the PIN for the ID card by visiting the citizen service. It is already planned that the PIN can also be reset online.
Statutory health insurance companies: It is necessary to specify insurance numbers
When asked to clarify why it is not currently mandatory for privately insured people to issue a health insurance number (KVNR), Anke Schleicher of the PKV Association explained that the KVNR requires a great deal of effort. Digital identity and thus health insurance is the number one prerequisite for applications such as the electronic patient file, e-prescription and other applications. “You also need this number for other purposes, such as for the entire implant register, cancer register, etc. (…). This number has to be generated in an individual process. And we require active participation in doing so.” The insured must submit an application, specifically so that data protection consent for the use of personal data is available. The companies are very active in this regard.
Furthermore, there are only a few people who report back. “Mails have been sent for two years (…) and to date only ten percent of those insured by private health insurance have been provided with KVNR.” It is a “very complex, very bureaucratic and very expensive process”. Furthermore, not all insured persons could be reached. Especially “those groups that really need it, i.e. vulnerable groups, the seriously ill, the elderly, those who need care. As a rule, we cannot reach insured people who speak a foreign language “
The PKV Association has therefore been demanding for years a legal regulation so that PKV companies can create a KVNR for each insured person without consent and compulsorily. The number will then be available when it is actually needed in case of treatment, and then the opt-out EPA and e-prescription will also be established in private health insurance,” Schleicher said. There have always been discussions with BMG and concrete suggestions for implementation but till date they have not been considered.
(Mac)
