Digital Health

The German E-Health Act became effective in January 2016. It promotes the use of information and communication technology within the German healthcare system. It defines the uniform framework for future cross-sectoral network­ ing and cooperation between healthcare providers and the parties paying for healthcare services. The German Federal Ministry of Health is responsible for the design of the legal framework of the telematics infrastructure. The German Society for Telematics (gematik) is responsible for the introduction of the telematics infrastructure and the Electronic Health Card. The Electronic Health Card allows digital storage and retrieval of patient data. Its applications will be in­ troduced gradually.