[Telematics in the health system and data protection]

In the health system, telematics are to be used for the benefit of patients and to make it possible for them to receive better medical care. Telematics must be employed in accordance with the guidelines of data protection and this means in particular that the patient must remain the master of his data. Therefore, he must be able to decide in which situation and to whom he wants to reveal his medical data. For this reason, the exact implementation of the introduction of the electronic medical smart card envisaged by the law requires detailed access authorisations and limitations, which must be reinforced by ample technical security measures. These measures must be transmitted to the patients through co-operation of doctors and health insurance companies in such a transparent way that they recognise the advantages of the new technology. The higher the acceptance is on the patients' side, the more they will be willing to participate voluntarily in telematic projects.