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Can privately insured people use the electronic patient record?

In short

Yes, privately insured people in Germany can use the electronic patient record (elektronische Patientenakte, ePA) if their private health insurer offers it. Unlike the statutory health funds, private insurers are not obliged to, and using it stays voluntary. A growing number offer it through their own app. Doctors may upload documents with your consent but do not have to.

Can privately insured people use the electronic patient record?

What it costs

What filling the ePA costs on the doctor's bill under the German Medical Association's recommendation.

ExampleTypical range
First upload, GOÄ number 75 by analogy, 2.3 rateEUR 17.43
First upload, GOÄ number 75 by analogy, single rateEUR 7.58
Further upload, GOÄ number 70 by analogy, 2.3 rateEUR 5.36
Further upload, GOÄ number 70 by analogy, single rateEUR 2.33
Upload by a dentist, by analogy under section 6 (1) GOZno fixed recommendation from the dental association, as of July 2025

Amounts under the scale of fees for doctors as published by a billing service in February 2025;

the single rate is calculated back from these.

A new scale of fees may change the amounts.

The annual total in the example is a guide value from our quoting practice.

Worked example

Privately insured patient with a GP and two specialists

Her insurer offers the ePA. She sets up the app, scans the QR code in three practices and asks each to upload her findings.

Health insurance number and GesundheitsIDapplied for at the private health insurer
First upload at the GPEUR 17.43 at the 2.3 rate
Three further uploads in the yearEUR 5.36 each, EUR 16.08 in total
Total on doctors' bills in the first yearabout EUR 33.51
Reimbursementdepending on the tariff, through the private health insurer

The ePA itself is not tied to any practice; what goes into it depends on whether your doctors take part. Expect small amounts on your doctors' bills and ask your insurer whether it reimburses them.

What is different if you come from abroad

If you are used to a national health service that keeps your records centrally, the German system looks fragmented. There is no single public record for everyone. Statutory health funds (gesetzliche Krankenkassen) set one up automatically, while private health insurers (private Krankenversicherung, PKV) decide for themselves whether to offer one.

Many expats with higher salaries or a self-employed status are privately insured. For them, the ePA depends on the insurer and on each practice. Records from your home country do not flow in automatically either; bring copies of important findings and ask your doctor to upload them.

Statutory and private: the difference

For people with statutory insurance, the health funds have set up an electronic patient record automatically since 2025 unless the person objects. Practices, hospitals and pharmacies have had to use and fill it since 1 October 2025.

This does not apply in private health insurance. Private insurers can offer their customers an ePA but do not have to. If your insurer offers it, it may only set up the record after informing you and giving you the chance to object.

PointStatutory insurancePrivate insurance
Record is set upautomatically unless you objectonly if your insurer offers it, after information and a chance to object
Practices must fill ityes, since 1 October 2025no, only with your consent
Access in the practiceby inserting the health cardrelease in the app or online check-in with a QR code
Billing data in the recordyesno
Data for researchpseudonymised, with a right to objectnot for now

Which insurers offer the ePA

There is no official list. The association of private health insurers writes that more and more companies offer their customers an ePA. In July 2026 an IT service provider reported that, together with a partner, it provides the record to 13 private health insurers, eight of them newly launched.

Whether your insurer is one of them, you can see in its app or on its website. If it offers the ePA, it must inform you about setting up the record and about the ePA app.

What you need to use it

You need a health insurance number that differs from your policy number, and a GesundheitsID, a digital identity for health services. You apply for both at your private health insurer. The GesundheitsID is linked to your smartphone when you first log in; some apps also use an online ID function. If you have no German identity card (Personalausweis), ask your insurer which ways of identifying yourself it accepts.

Each insurer has its own ePA app, in which you give a practice access. Online check-in is easier: you scan the practice's QR code once, and this sends the release and your health insurance number. The practice needs a connection to the telematics infrastructure (Telematikinfrastruktur) and suitable software.

What goes into the record

Doctors and other practitioners can upload findings, doctors' letters and vaccination data. Data from e-prescriptions goes into the electronic medication list. Since summer 2026 doctors can also create an electronic medication plan.

Unlike for patients with statutory insurance, there is no billing data in the record. Your data also does not go to the German Health Research Data Centre for now.

Do doctors have to fill the record of private patients?

No. The legal duty to fill the record applies to people with statutory insurance. For privately insured patients, doctors may upload existing documents if they have access and you agree. So ask for it explicitly in the practice.

For filling the record, the German Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer) recommends billing by analogy with the scale of fees for doctors (GOÄ): number 75 for the first upload, number 70 for each further one. Such recommendations are not legally binding but carry weight. Whether your tariff reimburses the fee depends on your tariff terms.

Who benefits and when it adds little

The record is useful if you see several doctors, take regular medication or no longer want to search paper folders for findings. Duplicate examinations become less likely.

It adds little as long as your practices are not connected or do not upload documents. You can also object later if you no longer want the record.

Step by step

  1. Check in your insurer's app or on its website whether it offers an ePA.
  2. Apply for a health insurance number and a GesundheitsID at your private health insurer.
  3. Install your insurer's ePA app and link the GesundheitsID to your smartphone.
  4. Check in at the practice with the QR code or release access in the app.
  5. Ask explicitly for findings and doctors' letters to be uploaded, including copies from your home country.
  6. Check whether your tariff reimburses the fee for filling the record.

Checklist

  • Insurer offers the ePA
  • Health insurance number received
  • GesundheitsID set up
  • ePA app installed and access rights checked
  • Practices connected to the telematics infrastructure
  • Reimbursement of the upload fee clarified in the tariff

Common mistakes

  • Assuming the record fills itself as with a statutory health fund
  • Mixing up the policy number and the health insurance number
  • Giving a practice unlimited access although it only needs it briefly
  • Thinking the upload fee on the doctor's bill is a mistake

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does my private health insurer have to offer me an ePA?

No.

Private insurers may offer an ePA but are not legally obliged to.

Do I get the ePA automatically?

Only if your insurer offers it.

It may then only set it up after informing you and giving you the chance to object.

Can I object to the ePA later?

Yes, even if the record already exists.

Use is voluntary for privately insured people.

Does the ePA work at the doctor's with my insurance card?

No, unlike for patients with statutory insurance.

You release access in the app or check in with the practice's QR code.

What happens to the ePA if I change insurer?

The new insurer can request the record using your health insurance number,

provided it also offers an ePA.

Do civil servants with state aid (Beihilfe) get an ePA?

The private health insurer issues the health insurance number and GesundheitsID.

So you only get the ePA if your private insurer offers it.

Does the e-prescription work for privately insured people?

Yes, if insurer and practice support it.

Like the ePA, it stays voluntary in private health insurance.

Sources

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