Since the beginning of the year, an electronic patient file (EPA) has been created for all legally insured persons who have not contradicted. As the TI dashboard reports, 40,881,740 electronic patient files were opened last week. However, only the number of technical access is counted. It can therefore be the case that a patient file “is accessed in different facilities in one day. These accesses are counted than several file openings counted,” said the Gematik when asked by Heise Online. Overall, the use of the EPA can still be expanded, as well as concerns from doctors and pharmacists.
EPA module not yet there for many
The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) warnsthat the software does not yet have the EPA module in many practices. In a quarter of the manufacturers there is no feedback or the EPA module is still being rolled out, as a survey by the Federal Association of Health IT (BVITG) and the KBV showed. The KBV director Dr. Sybille Steiner as “highly critical”. Practices should now have the opportunity to integrate the EPA into their everyday work and to give feedback to the manufacturer and the gem.
Steiner advises practices without an EPA module, in the practical management system (PVS) to check whether the module has to be activated. In the event of uncertainties, the manufacturers should be asked. The functionality of the EPA also depends heavily on the software. In the past, it was said that some of the practices have to change the provider, since the manufacturers probably no longer implement the EPA module. The currently unstable telematics infrastructure causes additional problems, which affect the acceptance of the EPA in the medical profession through frequent failures. According to Steiner, there is positive feedback on the electronic medication list, but when handling metadata – for example when uploading findings or when looking for a document – many practices expressed criticism.
TI disorders also hinder pharmacies
The regular disorders of the telematics infrastructure, the “health data motorway”, also hinder pharmacies. In a letter to the Gematik, a managing director of the Federal Association of German Pharmacists’ Associations, Claudia Korf, described the disorders as a releasing. Among other things, it calls for a re -evaluation of failure safety, As reported, among other things, the German Pharmacist Zeitung.
The failures led to the loss of earnings in the affected pharmacies, because recipes cannot then be supplied. Overall, a significant deterioration in application stability can be seen compared to the previous year. The also speaks of similar problems Pharmacist Association Westfalen-Lippe (AVWL) And demands more failure to reliability in the TI. “This can become a risk for our patients,” warns Thomas Haddenhorst, chairman of the Warendorf district group in the AVWL. If you are acutely sick, you need the drug immediately. “If you are sick, you cannot rap several pharmacies until you have finally found one that is not affected by the respective disorder,” said Haddenhorst.
According to a gematics spokeswoman, the “temporary disorders to which Ms. Korf refers to Mr. Florian Fuhrmann in her letter, (…) not the entire Ti or the e-recipe system, but specific components or services. All disorders have been fully remedied, the services have been running stable since then”.
In addition, the correction of the disorders would “usually be implemented quickly (…). In more complex cases, however, the disturbance can take more time – despite the intensive efforts of everyone involved,” the spokeswoman said. Gematics is in close and continuous exchange with manufacturers, providers and service providers. “In addition, the providers are continuously implemented by technical and organizational measures to increase operating stability,” said the spokeswoman. The reliability of the TI and its applications will continue to work “within the framework of the legal possibilities”.
Electronic patient files: insured persons not sufficiently informed
In addition to the disorders, Steiner sees the insufficient information of the patient as an obstacle. The health insurance companies would have to become much more active here. Steiner recommends practicing to refer her patients to the health insurance companies if you have any questions. The KBV offers an overview of the degree of equipment with EPA modules. This is based on data from the BVITG and the KBV and is intended to create more transparency about the progress of the introduction.
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