On July 1, an app for electronic prescriptions in Germany launched on the Apple and Google app stores. The system is also being tested by doctors and pharmacies around Berlin and Brandenburg.

E-prescription app trialled in Berlin

A new app, on which digital prescriptions can be issued, has been made available for the first time in Germany. The app was developed by Gematik GmbH, who, along with the Federal Ministry of Health, hopes to streamline the entire process, from getting the prescription to claiming with health insurance companies.

The first prescriptions are not expected to be issued for at least a few weeks, as a pilot test is underway, in which around 50 medical practices and 120 pharmacies in Berlin and Brandenburg are testing the app to make sure the system works well under real conditions. From January 2022, the e-prescription system is expected to be mandatory for all medical practices.

The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has approved the new e-prescription system, finding “no major deficiencies” in their tests. However, the BSI has asserted that it would only approve a 2020 general roll-out if the app warns people about protecting their data if they do not use a fingerprint scanner or facial recognition. The BSI also stipulated that the app should send users a notification if any unusual login attempts are detected.

Digitisation of the German healthcare system

The e-prescription is part of the ongoing mission to digitise the healthcare system in Germany. While the e-prescription system is being tested, the third phase of the country’s digitisation project, the introduction of the electronic patient record (ePA), will also start. Accordingly, from July 1, all medical practices should be connected to the digital telematics infrastructure of the healthcare system (TI). Almost all medical practices and psychotherapists are connected to the TI, according to the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV). The TI system is supposed to help facilitate quick and safe data exchange within the healthcare system.

According to Gottfried Ludewig, head of digitisation and innovation at the Federal Ministry for Health, the ePA will be implemented in medical practices nationwide by the end of September. “With the electronic patient record, data can be exchanged more quickly and stored for a longer period of time. This will improve patient care."

The head of Gematik, Markus Leyck Dieken, said, “In the coming months, people will notice more and more that it is easier for them if they always have their findings with them using the electronic patient record."