Pharmacy employees voice concerns over problems with the digital prescription system
Germany's electronic prescription (e-prescription) system, designed to enhance convenience and reduce trips to the doctor's office, has been facing significant reliability issues in recent times[1]. These problems stem from frequent system downtimes, partial outages, and instability in the underlying telematics infrastructure[2][3].
In the past two weeks, there have been five days with complete or significant disruptions in the e-prescription system or the supporting infrastructure[3]. Each time a crash occurs, tens of thousands of patients and pharmacies nationwide are affected[1][2]. The system's instability has drawn criticism from pharmacy associations, who argue that such unreliability can have serious consequences for patient health and care continuity[1][2][3].
Gematik, the federal agency managing digital healthcare infrastructure, has admitted that components and services have been affected by these disruptions[1]. The agency has pointed to partial failures especially affecting the electronic patient record (ePA) and e-prescriptions, linked to gateway malfunctions managed by external service providers[2][3].
The dependency on external service providers is another contributing factor to the system's unreliability[3]. The severity of these disruptions has led Thomas Preis, head of the Federal Association of Pharmacists, to demand that the system's reliability be significantly improved[1]. Preis also warned that a crashed e-prescription system can have serious consequences for people's health[1].
Eugen Brysch, a board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, has called for a "daily e-prescription radar" to inform doctors of system functionality[1]. Brysch has also demanded that Health Minister Nina Warken instructs Gematik to submit a monthly disruption report[1]. In case of crashes, pharmacies need more leeway to still provide patients with medication[1].
Despite the issues, the Federal Association of Pharmacists believes that there is no alternative to the digitization of healthcare, but the current unreliability is unacceptable[1]. Gematik is continuously working to improve the e-prescription system's reliability and stability[1]. The e-prescription system has been mandatory since January 2024[1]. The responsible society Gematik must ensure that pharmacies and doctor's practices can work in a stable system.
The unreliability of the e-prescription system has been compared to the unreliability of Deutsche Bahn, a German railway company[1]. The comparison underscores the urgency for Gematik to address the system's issues and restore public confidence in the e-prescription system.
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- The instability of Germany's e-prescription system, linked to medical-conditions and health-and-wellness, has drawn criticism, with arguments that such unreliability can have serious consequences.
- The dependency on external technology services is another contributing factor to the system's unreliability, and the severity of disruptions has led to demands for significant improvements in system reliability.
- The comparison of the e-prescription system's unreliability to that of a German railway company, Deutsche Bahn, underscores the urgency for Gematik to work on improving the system's reliability and restoring public confidence.
