Health insurance e-cards

The German health insurance card has entered the 21st century. The so-called e-card, complete with color photo and memory chip, was launched on Thursday in the North Rhine pilot area. By the end of the year up to 120,000 publicly insured patients are set to receive the new cards.

Supporters say the e-cards will prevent drugs with dangerous interactions from being prescribed by two different doctors, cut down on redundant treatments and give doctors, clinicians and pharmacists access to the same electronic patient file.

"Better and cheaper"

"The electronic health insurance card gives us the opportunity to make health care better and cheaper at the same time," said August-Wilhelm Scheer, president of Bitkom, Germany's information and telecommunications industry association. The photo is meant to make it more difficult for the card to be used by someone other than its owner. According to Scheer, the card also lays "the foundation for a secure handling of sensitive patient data."

Some doctors disagree, and while the electronic health insurance card is meant to be in the wallets of all of the 70 million publicly insured in Germany by the end of 2010, there are moves to stop the program before it even gets going.

"Gigantic data monster"

Martin Grauduszus, president of the Independent Doctors Association, said the program creates a "gigantic data monster." Grauduszus and others are concerned about physician-patient confidentiality and the doctor's right to prescribe medication as he or she sees most fit.

The Free Democrat Party (FDP), which is sceptical about data-gathering, had opposed the new cards during its election campaign. Now the FDP is set to be the junior partner in a coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats. On Wednesday Grauduszus sent a letter to FDP head Guido Westerwelle asking him not to forget that "many doctors are pinning their hopes on the FDP."

"We doctors hope that this opposition will become actual policy," Grauduszus wrote.

Off to a rocky start

There are other challenges ahead for those pushing for the full implementation of the electronic health insurance card. Those who do get the chip-enabled card have been encouraged to keep their old card with them too when they head to the doctor. As few as one third of the roughly 15,000 doctor's offices in the North Rhine region have the necessary device to read the new cards.

And those in Germany who have opted for private insurance won't be affected by these changes at all. The private insurers decided the required investment of 360 million euros ($524 million) was too risky.

hf/AFP/AP/dpa
Editor: Michael Lawton