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Germany’s Electronic Patient Record Marks a Year With Trust Deficits and Demands for Transparency

Candid communication about security limits, including data control changes, is seen as key to rebuilding acceptance.

Overview

  • After a legal start in 2025, the system rolled out in model regions rather than instantly nationwide, creating expectations the staged deployment did not meet.
  • Millions of records exist and doctors must use the system for statutory-insured patients, yet active use remains low, with surveys indicating roughly 3.6% engagement across major insurers.
  • With ePA 3.0, patients lost fine-grained controls, such as selectively blocking documents for specific clinicians, and the medication list became an all-or-nothing view.
  • The first year brought security gaps, outages in the telematics infrastructure, and missing software modules, even as officials previously asserted the launch carried no residual hacking risk.
  • Security researchers highlighted possible attack scenarios and authorities say fixes have been applied, while patient advocates press for simpler onboarding and clearer, plain‑language guidance.