Electronic prescriptions have become the mass standard almost a year after they became mandatory for medical practices. From the beginning of the year until shortly before Christmas, more than 512 million e-prescriptions were submitted, as the Federal Ministry of Health announced in response to a request from the German Press Agency. Since January 1, 2024, all practices must issue prescriptions digitally. Instead of the previous pink slips of paper, they can then be cashed in three ways: By inserting the health insurance company's electronic health card at the pharmacy, via an e-prescription app or as a printed QR code on paper.
According to a survey conducted by Gematik, a digital company that is mainly owned by the federal government, the majority of people use the health insurance card - 86 percent of the 1,081 respondents in the November survey stated this. In order for prescriptions to be cashed in, doctors must sign them digitally. If this is done directly during the consultation, patients can then go straight to the pharmacy and pick up the medication.
Delayed broad launch of e-prescriptions
By the beginning of 2024, the total number of e-prescriptions filled was still just under 19 million. This included a preliminary phase that started in mid-2021. A decisive boost was then provided by the simpler check-in process via health insurance card, which has been possible since summer 2023. The obligation to issue digital prescriptions was actually already in place from 2022, but a broad-based launch was also delayed due to technical problems.
A connecting device for the protected data highway of the healthcare system is required in surgeries. The e-prescriptions are not stored directly on the health insurance card, but on a central server. When the card is inserted, the pharmacy is then authorized to retrieve the prescription from there.
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