Telematics Infrastructure: Doctors to test NFDM and eMP 

CompuGroup Medical Deutschland AG (CGM) has been installing the necessary components for testing the new applications in the Telematics Infrastructure (TI) since this week. Immediately after installation, the service providers involved were able to start testing the applications Emergency Data Management (Notfalldatenmanagement, NFDM), Electronic Medication Plan (eMP), and Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) in doctor's offices and pharmacies using the KoCoBoxMED+ e-health connector.

74 doctor’s practices, one KVWL emergency practice, 15 pharmacies (8 CGM LAUER), and one hospital in the Westphalia-Lippe region have been equipped with the necessary components for participation in the field test since March 02, 2020. These include the e-health connector KoCoBox MED+ and an update for the respective primary systems of the participating institutions. The installation work is carried out by specially trained and certified technicians of CompuGroup Medical Deutschland AG (CGM).

The testing of the new medical applications takes place in close cooperation between CompuGroup Medical, the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of Westphalia-Lippe (Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Westfalen-Lippe, KVWL), the Pharmacy Chamber of Westphalia-Lippe, and gematik. The functionality and interoperability of the e-health connector is to be proven in the field test by using it in a real care environment. In the participating doctor's offices, the pharmacies, and the clinic, predefined use cases are carried out for this. For the NFDM application, these include, for example, the creation, updating, and deletion of emergency data records, but also the creation of personal declarations, such as a reference to the existence and location of an organ donor card. Use cases for the eMP include the creation, updating, and deletion of the medication plan. Each participating service provider can start testing the new applications immediately after having installed the required components.

"We are very pleased that the commitment and efforts of the past months are now paying off and that testing the new medical applications can now begin," says Dr. Eckart Pech, board member for Consumer and Health Management Information Systems at CompuGroup Medical. "The successful completion of the field test is a prerequisite for gematik's approval of the e-health connector for productive operation. Once this approval has been obtained, there is nothing to hinder a nationwide rollout of the new applications." All facilities which have already been connected to the TI via KoCoBox MED+ will then receive the new functionalities via a software upgrade. A hardware exchange is not necessary.

Eckart Pech also emphasizes the successful collaboration with the cooperation partners during the preparation: "We would like to thank the colleagues from PHARMATECHNIK and InterData for their active and competent support. Only together could we set the necessary course so that the field test can now begin in the doctor's offices, pharmacies, and clinics." Besides the ambulatory information systems CGM ALBIS and CGM MEDISTAR, the hospital information system CGM CLINICAL, and the WINAPO® systems of CGM LAUER, the IXOS system of PHARMATECHNIK and InterData are also involved in the field test.