In a few days, pharmacies throughout Germany should be able to redeem electronic prescriptions for medicines. The federal government expects more security and less effort from the “e-prescription”. We clarify the most important questions.
“When you transfer money, do you fill out a transfer slip and take it to the bank? So why are we still bringing paper prescriptions to our pharmacies?”
With these questions, the Federal Ministry of Health introduced its announcement in July, in which it announced a major innovation: the e-prescription is coming. The electronic prescription for prescription drugs will soon be redeemed throughout Germany. What you need to know about it.
E-Prescription stands for “electronic prescription”. This is a “digital prescription code that you can redeem in the pharmacy for the prescribed drug,” writes the consumer advice center (VBZ). The prescription code is therefore similar to a QR code and contains the prescription data in digital form.
In the first step, according to the VBZ, only prescriptions for prescription drugs are issued electronically. The e-prescription will then be gradually expanded. In the future, prescriptions for narcotics and digital health applications, as well as referrals to medical specialists, remedies, aids or home nursing, among other things, are to be digitized.
The VBZ lists three steps for the process:
So that hospitals, medical practices and pharmacies can adapt, the e-prescription will initially be introduced in stages. The Ministry of Health calls this procedure the “e-prescription rollout”.
“From September 1, 2022, the first stage of the e-prescription rollout will start in Westphalia-Lippe and Schleswig-Holstein,” the statement continues. However, the Schleswig-Holstein Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVSH) initially withdrew from the introduction of electronic prescriptions.
However, that does not mean that you can only redeem the e-prescription in Westphalia-Lippe. “Even outside of the regionally supported e-prescription rollout, the e-prescription can be used nationwide in (dental) medical practices and hospitals for the prescription of medicines,” emphasizes the ministry. Because from September 1, 2022, pharmacies throughout Germany will be able to redeem e-prescriptions and settle accounts with health insurance companies.
“The blue prescription for privately insured people will initially continue to be available in paper form,” writes the VBZ. But privately insured persons should also have access to e-prescriptions in the future. The technical requirements for this are currently being created.
In order to be able to use the e-prescription, you must download the following app:
According to the VBZ, this is available in the usual app stores. The publisher is “gematik GmbH”. It is also important that your smartphone supports the NFC transmission standard and has at least iOS 14 or Android 7 as the operating system.
To register, you also need an electronic health card with NFC function. If you do not have these, you can apply for them from your health insurance company. You will also receive a PIN from the health insurance company for logging in.
Anyone who does not have the app required for the e-prescription or does not use a smartphone will have the code printed out on a piece of paper. There will also be an application on the PC, explains the VBZ, with which you can view and delete e-prescriptions. However, you cannot redeem them via this.
“The e-prescription is valid for just as long as a paper prescription – four weeks,” writes the “Techniker Krankenkasse”. Since the status of an e-prescription is stored centrally in the digital health network, you can only redeem it once, the VBZ also explains. Once a pharmacy has redeemed an e-prescription, the status will be changed so that you cannot redeem it a second time.
The doctor’s office provides the e-prescription with a qualified electronic signature, explains the VBZ. Based on this signature, the pharmacy can reliably determine who issued the e-prescription and whether the content of the e-prescription has been changed without authorization. Only the prescribing doctor’s office itself and the pharmacy of your choice can then see the e-prescription.
The data of the e-prescription would be stored in encrypted form on servers of the so-called telematics infrastructure, which are located in a secure data center. “You will be automatically deleted 100 days after you have redeemed the prescription,” explains the VBZ. However, insured persons can also delete the data themselves before this period has expired.
