New problem with the “PDF cemetery”: Everyone who creates a patient file has to pay

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The electronic patient file (EPD) is now on track, Minister of Health Alain Berset (51) recently promised during a debate in the Council of States. The numbers speak a different language. Only 27,000 people in this country have a digital medical record.

And this for many reasons. Creating an EPD is voluntary for patients – and still quite complicated. But that is not enough. As SonntagsBlick discovered, the digital file can be quite expensive. Especially for insured people who have decided to open one.

The fault is in the system. The EPD is still largely fed with data on our own initiative. This requires medical reports, X-rays and medication lists to be requested from the service providers as PDF or another file format and then stored online. This creates – as evil tongues claim – a confusing ‘PDF graveyard’.

Sending the documents means a cost for the staff, which some practices charge at the expense of the compulsory health insurance (OKP): 16 francs for 5 minutes of “studying files in the absence of the patient”. In this case, anyone who has not yet used up their deductible will finance their own electronic patient file.

If you listen to parliamentarians campaigning for the electronic patient file, they say in unison: “It wasn’t actually intended that way.” Because it is clear: as long as the costs of the EPD are borne by the users, any call for more personal responsibility will remain unheard.

Actually not admissible

According to the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), service providers are not allowed to charge fees for requesting documents for the EPD. “The current rates already include the costs of maintaining medical records,” BAG spokesperson Andrea Arcidiacono told SonntagsBlick. “Publishing the medical history may therefore not entail additional costs and is the property of the insured.”

Yvonne Gilli (66), chairman of the FMH Medical Association, sees it differently. It is true that copies of reports should be published free of charge. “However, services for maintaining the electronic patient file are additional services that, in the view of the FMH, require additional efforts.”

The reason for the resulting problems is the outdated rates. “This has led to an untenable situation for general practitioners,” said Gilli. The services in Tarmed dated from the pre-digital era.

Health insurers reject liability

Gilli’s arguments are not heard by the health insurers. “The delivery of documents is subject to the old rates,” says Santésuisse spokesman Matthias Müller. It does not matter for what purpose documents are sent to a patient. “If they commendably take the trouble to create an electronic patient file and provide it with information, they should be supported in doing so.” Müller sees service providers as having a duty: “We expect the medical profession to help promote digitalization and not delay it with unjustified fees.”

For Sarah Wyss (35), passing on the costs of the EPD to patients is also excluded. The SP Council Member says: “It is not advisable to charge these costs via a rate.” If service providers need temporary financial support during the transition to the EPD, Wyss sees the cantons as responsible: “The financing of the electronic patient file should certainly not come from the health insurer.”

Source:Blick