STORY: The digitization of medical practices is to be pushed ahead significantly. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced on Thursday in Berlin that 80 percent of patients in Germany should have an electronic patient file by the end of 2025. By the end of 2026, 300 research projects should be able to use electronic patient data. “Really good care can no longer be presented really well without access to digital patient data. And in research it goes without saying that many things are simply possible if digital data is available, can be evaluated and then in different ways way can be brought together.” The electronic patient file should be introduced automatically, said Lauterbach. Digital files are only created for patients who actively object. Experts warn that Germany would continue to slide as an economic nation without this digitization. For example, Germany has already fallen significantly behind other countries in cancer research.