E-prescriptions new standard in Germany: CGM with positive interim assessment

Koblenz. In the first four weeks of this year, around 12 million e-prescriptions were issued in the German ambulatory information systems of CompuGroup Medical (CGM) alone. This means more e-prescriptions than redeemed overall in Germany between July 2021 and early December 2023. Pharmacies using CGM Lauer software have redeemed more than 4 million e-prescriptions in the last four weeks. This is CGM's positive interim balance since e-prescriptions became the new standard in ambulatory healthcare at the beginning of the year.

"500 million prescriptions are issued in Germany every year. Digitizing this process during ongoing practice operations is an enormous challenge. We are mastering it together: Patients have received around 12 million e-prescriptions from CGM customers in the first four weeks of the year. A great achievement by the doctors, practice teams and pharmacists, whom we are happy to provide with comprehensive support. Particularly in view of the complexity of the process, CGM considers the comprehensive introduction of e-prescriptions to be a clear success. With the broad use of e-prescriptions, digitization in the German healthcare system is reaching all patients. This is an important step toward a fully connected healthcare system," says Dr. Ulrich Thomé, Managing Director Ambulatory Information Systems DACH at CGM.

According to CGM, the number of e-prescriptions sent via CLICKDOC has also increased significantly and tripled compared to December. CGM thus offers an alternative to the e-prescription channels via electronic health card, printout or gematik app. CGM's German ambulatory information systems can handle all of these prescription channels. With CLICKDOC, physicians can send secure access to the e-prescription token from the CGM software without any additional effort. Patients receive an encrypted access link via SMS or e-mail. After successfully answering the security question, they can access the e-prescription token with their smartphone. They can redeem their e-prescription at any local pharmacy or online at around 7,500 local pharmacies of their choice, pre-order the medication and, if offered, have it delivered by courier. When ordering over-the-counter products online, patients can see in CLICKDOC if they are in stock. To read the prescription data behind the e-prescription token, the pharmacy needs a connection to the Telematics Infrastructure (TI). The prescription record is always stored in the TI and never leaves it.

Dr. Kirsten Schubert-Fuchs, owner of a gynaecological practice in Oberlungwitz near Chemnitz, says about the electronic prescription via CLICKDOC: "Thanks to CLICKDOC, our patients can see directly on their smartphone that their e-prescription is available. This makes it easier for us as a practice team to explain how e-prescriptions work and is also well received by our patients. They have something in their hands, only fully digital. It also saves a lot of extra work, especially when we have to make subsequent changes to the prescription due to supply bottlenecks or when we issue prescriptions after phone calls or video consultations due to infections."

The digitization of the German healthcare system is gaining momentum. According to gematik, a total of 51 million e-prescriptions have now been redeemed in Germany. This means that the total number has almost tripled since the beginning of the year. According to gematik, the number of medical facilities in Germany that issue e-prescriptions every week is more than 77,000. This compares to 50,000 in the week before Christmas. 17,500, and thus almost all pharmacies in Germany accepted e-prescriptions last week.