The German government has announced the Nordrhein-Westfalen state will be the first to be given new electronic health cards, once roll-out begins.
The state, known as the North Rhine region, will be the first in Germany to distribute e-health cards, following an agreement between the state government and federations representing health insurance funds, doctors, dentists and hospitals.
Approval of the card scheme was formalised at a recent meeting of the state’s health ministry.
Roll-out of the smartcards is anticipated to begin in early 2009, following the completion of distribution of card-reading terminals towards the end of this year.
The state’s health ministry said: “The move will strengthen the pioneering role of Nordrhein-Westfalen in introducing telematics applications into the health services”.
The state says the project will only be launched once a series of technical preconditions have been fulfilled.
Once terminals have been put into place, the state’s health ministry will undertake quality tests before distributing the cards to the public.
Link
Nordrhein-Westfalen (German only)