Private health insurers (PKV) see smartphones as the right tool for offering customers secure and easy access to digital health services. The industry considers this to be more convenient than using outdated health card technology. For this purpose, the insured should receive a so-called digital identity from mid-2023. The private health insurance association has concluded framework agreements with IBM Germany and Research Industrial Systems Engineering (RISE).
Ease of access is a key issue in the digitization of healthcare. So far, the 73.7 million people insured with statutory health insurers have only received benefits on presentation of the electronic health card, whether it’s a doctor’s consultation or cashing in a prescription. Most of the 8.7 million people insured by private companies also have a card, but they also receive benefits without one because the doctor bills them directly.
The following applies to everyone involved: Insured persons need separate access data to access the electronic patient file, but they cannot use this to identify themselves to the doctor. This should solve the digital identity. It combines the data from the health card with the ID card data on the smartphone.
According to the will of the legislator, the statutory health insurance companies should give their insured persons the opportunity to use the digital identity from the beginning of 2024. This time frame does not exist for private health insurance. However, private health insurance must act quickly if it does not want to fall behind the cash registers when it comes to accessing electronic patient files and other services.
So far, there hasn’t been an industry-wide solution
With the decision in favor of the smartphone solution, the private health insurance association is making another attempt to find an industry-wide path. An app for privately insured people should actually come onto the market at the beginning of 2018 to give them access to the digital services of the individual companies. So far, however, providers have preferred to look for individual solutions.
It is no coincidence that the private health insurance association has now concluded the framework agreements with IBM and RISE. Because the few private health insurance companies that have already opted for an electronic patient file work with the version of one of the two providers. PKV market leader Debeka and R+V have opted for the IBM app, Allianz and Signal Iduna for RISE.
The private health insurance companies can now decide whether they want to join the framework agreement. The insured also have the choice of whether they want a digital identity at all in order to be able to use their electronic patient file and electronic prescription via smartphone or to check in with the doctor online.