2024-07-18 01:03:43
Doctors’ reports and laboratory results will soon be widely available digitally. What about older people and others who prefer to have their data on paper?
Patient advocates believe that future electronic patient records for everyone must also allow free printing. Otherwise, elderly people, those in need of care or those who are digitally inexperienced in particular would have no way of documenting their medical treatment on paper, said Eugen Brysch, chairman of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, to the German Press Agency. The technical implementation must take place in the practices. “The costs for such paper printouts must then be reimbursed by the health insurance companies.”
Brysch welcomed the Federal Ministry of Justice’s legislative plans for existing patient files, according to which a “first copy” should be made available free of charge. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is called upon to introduce a similar regulation for electronic files. Until now, practices have charged 30 cents to 2 euros per page for such printouts.
According to a law already passed by the traffic light coalition, at the beginning of 2025 all those with statutory insurance are to have an electronic file created by their health insurance company – unless the insured person refuses to do so. The file is intended to be a personal storage facility for medications, findings and laboratory values, and will accompany patients throughout their lives.
This is also intended to avoid drug interactions and unnecessary multiple examinations. The e-files should also be accessible on smartphones. They were already introduced as an optional service in 2021, but have hardly been used so far.