Introduction
The Health Telematics Act 20121 provides for an
Electronic Health Record (ELGA), which shall contain all
health-relevant information on patients. Health care providers
(physicians, dentists, pharmacists, hospitals) have access to ELGA.
However, patients can object to participate in ELGA and they can
limit the accessibility to their health data. ELGA is still in the
implementation process.
On December 6, 2019 the Ministry of Health provided parliament
with a draft of an amendment to the Health Telematics Act
20122 for consultation with the interested public.
Problem
Notwithstanding the current implementation process of ELGA, the
Austrian immunization system still uses the paper-based
immunization card as essential instrument for documentation
purposes. This documentation of the immunization status is often
incomplete and/or inconsistent, because a new immunization card is
issued (if the vaccinated person does not have the card with
him/her) so
