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Sagem Orga supports German governments eCard
The smart card expert Sagem Orga is underscoring its support of the German government's eCard strategy at Medica 2007. "Germany is a forerunner in Europe in this field," stresses Guido Lenzen, Head of Sales for the Electronic Health Card. Alongside the electronic health card, a SECCOS ec-card and the electronic ID card are to make communication between citizens and public authorities more secure and efficient. Lenzen adds that Sagem Orga already has leading technologies in all three areas, with the result that the Franco-German security group boasts excellent qualifications to support the German government in its push to improve internal and external security.
Protecting our mobile and digital society is one of the greatest challenges of our times. A key aspect in this is to protect personal identities, whether relating to electronic transactions, personal data, electronic documents, legal security of electronic business transactions or in health care. The electronic health card is the basis for fundamental modernization of the entire healthcare system and, in particular, will improve the quality of treatment in future for the country's 80 million insured persons.
Million-euro electronic health card order enters its next phase
Back in 2003, Sagem Orga was commissioned to advise the German Ministry of Health on rollout of the electronic health card and has since assumed a leading role in this. The smart card expert won the first major order for a total of 8.5 million cards for the health insurer Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) in July 2007. As an additional service, the TK's members are provided with a "home package" consisting of a highly secure card reader and digital signature. As a result, in future they will be able to use their electronic health cards for signing documents in a legally binding manner from their home PCs.
A card that saves lives
The new electronic health card not only differs in appearance from the old health insurance card in that it has a photo of the holder on it. Its range of functions has also been significantly enhanced. One example: a bee sting can cause an allergic reaction in seconds. The emergency doctor can directly access important data using the electronic health card. That saves time and so can help save lives. However, patients themselves decide whether they want to increase the availability of their data, since they are able to manage their personal health data themselves using the card. The objective in the coming years is to permit access to an electronic file containing the patient's medical history, in particular so that duplicate examinations can be avoided.
Protection against incorrect medication
The traditional procedure involving paper prescriptions will also gradually be converted to a fully electronic process. The eprescription has one crucial advantage: experts estimate that more people in Germany die every year as a result of incorrect medication and incompatibilities than in road accidents. And precisely such cases can be avoided by the new card if the medication information is stored on the card. Incompatibilities and incorrect combinations of medications can be seen immediately, and health professionals and pharmacists enjoy increased transparency and can provide better advice.
Study: high acceptance among the public
Acceptance among the public is high in view of these significant advantages. Some 90 percent of Germans want to have their personal data stored on the electronic health card, according to a survey by Forsa on behalf of the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) in Berlin. These results underscore those of a representative study commissioned by Sagem Orga, according to which under-40s especially would like to see rapid rollout of the electronic health card. Almost 70 percent of the total of 531 respondents were in favor of as many functions as possible on their health cards, and they especially expect faster treatment in emergencies as a result.
Sagem Orga is a subsidiary of Sagem Défense Sécurité, the world's number one in the field of identification. Its range of solutions includes digital signature cards, such as SECCOS, the electronic health card or the Health Professional Card, and biometric identification solutions for use at airports or in passports.