What's happening?
From the start of the year, a major change came into force in the organisation of healthcare in Germany.
That's because e-prescriptions (known as an ‘e-Rezept’ in Germany) became mandatory, meaning you should no longer get a pink paper slip from a doctor in order to pick up medicine from the pharmacy.
People insured in Germany should be able to redeem the prescription with their electronic health card (eGK), via the E-Rezept-App or with a paper printout.
It's part of Health Minister Karl Lauterbach's plans to digitalise healthcare in Germany.
READ ALSO: How Germany wants to roll out e-prescriptions and digital patient records
How exactly does it all work?
Good question.
There are a few ways that you should be able to get your prescription from the doctor. One way is that electronic prescriptions can be issued and used by inserting a health insurance card into a card reader.
So your medicines can be loaded onto the card at your doctor and you take the card to a pharmacy where they can see which items have been prescribed for you. No PIN is required to use it.
Since July 1st last year, this health insurance card system has been in place in some pharmacies and doctor's surgeries, but it has been rolled out extensively.
The process works by storing the data on a central server and then giving the pharmacies permission to retrieve the data when the patient comes in.
According to the German government, an e-prescription can also be managed with a smartphone via a secure e-prescription app and sent to your chosen pharmacy.
To use the secure e-prescription app, patients need an NFC-enabled electronic health card and their PIN, which they receive from their health insurance provider. E-prescriptions can then be digitally assigned to a pharmacy using the app or presented at a pharmacy (with the prescription code).
An e-prescription code can also be handed out as a paper printout at the doctor's office and you can take that to a pharmacy.
Does it work?
In theory, it should. But a member of The Local team had problems accessing a digital prescription, which was recently issued. Unfortunately, the pharmacies said they could not see the prescription uploaded to the health insurance card and the issue had to be resolved with the doctor's office.
So it seems that there are some teething problems.
In this case, can I still get a printed prescription?
Yes, as we mentioned above, patients can get a printout of the e-prescription with a code at the doctor's office. This can be scanned at the pharmacy who can then give you the medication prescribed.
However, the aim - at least from the government's communication - is to move towards a digital system so it will be encouraged to avoid the paper route if possible.
READ ALSO: What to know about Germany's new digital healthcare law
Anything else I should know?
According to the German government's Health Ministry, you won't need to go to the doctor's office if you need a follow-up prescription so that should save time.
Aside from prescriptions that used to come on pink slips, prescriptions that came on green and blue slips can also be issued digitally if the system is set up to do so in the doctor's practice.
What happens if my doctor cannot issue me an e-prescription?
Since January 1st, doctors have been obliged to issue prescriptions for those with statutory health insurance in electronic form.
If they can't do that, there are no consequences for patients. But the new digital law means there is a penalty for doctors. Doctors who do not support the e-prescription model will likely be subject to a fee reduction of one percent, according to the German government.
READ ALSO: 7 things to know about visiting a doctor in Germany
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