<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/www.markus-schall.de\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FwetlmtUm0RY%2F0.jpg\")
The electronic patient file, or ePA for short, is one of the most ambitious digitization projects in the German healthcare system. It is intended to bundle medical information centrally - from findings and laboratory values to medication plans, vaccinations and hospital reports. The aim is to better connect doctors, therapists, pharmacies and patients, avoid duplicate examinations and improve the quality of treatment.<\/p>\n
What sounds modern and efficient on paper raises numerous questions in practice: Who has access? How secure is the data? And above all: do I even want all my health information to be stored and accessible centrally - even if I haven't asked for it?<\/p>\n
I personally decided against the automatic creation of an EPO, so I exercised my right to object. I explain why in this article. But before we get to the criticism, it's worth taking a look back: How did the electronic patient record come about in the first place? Who planned it? Who is driving it forward? And how has the legal framework changed in recent years?<\/p>\n
12.04.2026<\/strong>Despite political pressure and technical implementation, the electronic patient file (ePA) is only slowly being put into practice. Current figures from Techniker Krankenkasse show that only around eight percent of insured persons actively use the ePA<\/strong><\/a> - This corresponds to around one million people. At the same time, it is emphasized that many functions of the ePA also work in the background without active use, for example through automatically saved findings or prescriptions. Nevertheless, the low level of active use remains a clear signal: acceptance among the population is still limited, even though the infrastructure is already being rolled out across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>