The number of electronically issued prescriptions has risen sharply in Germany. Around 40 percent of German pharmacies accept the majority of prescriptions as e-prescriptions (51 to 70 percent). In December, most prescriptions arrived at pharmacies as pink slips (sample 16). However, the redemption route via the electronic health card has helped the e-prescription to become more widespread. However, there are still “major technical implementation problems” that burden patient care. This emerges from a survey from the end of January to mid-February among around 1,100 pharmacies commissioned by the Federal Association of German Pharmacists Associations (ABDA).
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According to the survey, almost half of the pharmacies have a problem with a maximum of 20 percent of e-prescriptions. More than half of those surveyed are already seeing “slow improvements in electronic prescriptions”. A sixth are certain that the e-prescription will soon no longer be perceived as new. However, a quarter of those surveyed are pessimistic about the future of e-prescriptions and assume that it will remain difficult.
Patient there, e-prescription is missing
The biggest problem for pharmacies is that the patient is there, but the e-prescription is not yet there. This was already the case in more than two thirds of the pharmacies. According to Abda, this is due to the stack signature that some doctors use. With batch signature, e-prescriptions are collected and then signed by the doctor at specific times. With the convenience signature recommended by the Gematik and statutory health insurance associations, the prescriptions are signed immediately and end up directly in the telematics infrastructure.
Almost half of those surveyed still see “significant technical deficiencies in the implementation of the e-prescription”. One in ten pharmacies also cited “long response times in the telematics infrastructure as the biggest problem.” These waiting times did not exist before the e-prescription.
Reports in the TI fault portal
Disruptions to the services or within the telematics infrastructure regularly occur. For example, Gematik, which is responsible for the digitalization of the healthcare system, reported at 9:10 a.m. an “acute impairment of the OCSP responder of the trust service provider medisign,” which is used to sign e-prescriptions. The system will continue to be closely monitored, according to the Gematik fault portal. It was previously known that such disruptions occur regularly.
IT service providers, doctors and pharmacists repeatedly criticize the fact that information about disruptions is not reported in detail and quickly enough. To provide better information about disruptions, Gematik set up a Whatsapp channel at the end of the year, but not all disruptions are recorded there.
(mack)