Dortmund (dpa/lnw) – The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of Westphalia-Lippe (KVWL) is sticking to the plans to introduce electronic prescriptions on September 1, even after the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of Schleswig-Holstein (KVSH) has left. At the start of the rollout phase, around 250 practices should initially use the new technology, as the association confirmed on Tuesday. “We remain convinced that it is better to sit in the driver’s seat and help determine the course of the digitization of the healthcare system – so that we can get through this development as accident-free as possible,” said KVWL board member Thomas Müller.
The KVWL was reacting to the U-turn of the Schleswig-Holstein Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, which had temporarily withdrawn from the introduction of the e-prescription on Monday. The pilot project was originally supposed to start simultaneously in Westphalia-Lippe and Schleswig-Holstein on September 1st.
With the e-prescription, those with statutory health insurance no longer receive a pink slip of paper, but a code on their smartphone with which they can obtain the desired drug from the pharmacy. If you don’t have the required app or don’t use a smartphone, you get the code printed out on a piece of paper.
The KVSH justified its exit by saying that mail-based implementation of the e-prescription was prohibited under the state data protection law. This blocks the most practical way for patients. Digital solutions that practices and patients use equally cannot be implemented at the moment.
The Westphalia-Lippe Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians also considers a digital solution for the transmission of e-prescriptions to be indispensable, but in contrast to the KVSH, apparently hopes that the problems will be solved quickly. The KVWL expects the semi-public company Gematik, which is responsible for introducing the electronic health card, the Federal Ministry of Health and the pharmacy management system manufacturers, that the e-prescription can be transferred and redeemed with the electronic health card in three months at the latest. “This is the basic requirement for a successful introduction of the e-prescription and is non-negotiable.”