These are the advantages

Your smartphone can now scan your e-card

In future, they will be able to access ELGA using their smartphone.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Your smartphone can now be used as an e-card reader via the "My SV app". The advantage: every insured person has the option of allowing their doctor access to the electronic health record (ELGA) with the e-authorization.

This makes home visits, visits to nursing and old people's homes, telemedical treatment or issuing prescriptions much easier, according to a joint press conference held by the umbrella organization of social insurance companies and the Medical Association on Wednesday.

The Co-Chairman of the Conference of Social Insurance Institutions, Peter Lehner, and Edgar Wutscher, Vice President of the Austrian Medical Association, were delighted about a "milestone in the digitalization of the healthcare system".

"A great thing"
This enables a high degree of flexibility, emphasized Lehner and praised the relief for patients. "It's a great thing how we've managed to create a system with little money and through fruitful collaboration from the outset, which is of great benefit to both patients and doctors," said a delighted Wutscher.

The new function is intended to simplify processes.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

The costs for the project were estimated at 600,000 euros. It was launched in February of this year and the pilot phase has now been successfully completed with currently 400 applications per week. In the meantime, all doctors in all specialties have been included, provided they are connected to the e-card system. This means that purely elective doctors are not included.

What does my cell phone need to be able to do?
A smartphone with an NFC function, an NFC-enabled e-card and the "My SV app" are required for use. The e-authorization gives the selected doctor access to ELGA, just as if the e-card had been inserted into the reader in the surgery. They can use it to access e-medication and e-reports for 90 days and the e-vaccination record for 28 days. The doctor can also store the prescribed medication in the e-medication.

To grant authorization, you have to open the "My SV app" on your cell phone, select the name of the doctor or search for and select the doctor using the zip code, explained Lehner. The e-card must then be held to the back of the smartphone, which gives the doctor in question permission to access the e-card system.

Data protection is "1000 percent" guaranteed
No health data is transmitted, only the social security number and the identification number. The transfer takes place via end-to-end encryption in the data center, emphasized Lehner: "A 1000 percent perfect system in terms of data protection." As an insured person, you also have the option of checking who has accessed ELGA and when.