Berlin – On the occasion of the Federal Ministry of Health’s specialist hearing on the Health Data Utilization Act (GDNG) on August 14, 2023, Ulrike Elsner, Chairwoman of the Board of the Verband derersatzkassen e. V. (vdek):
“With the new Health Data Utilization Act, care in Germany will be further developed in a quality-oriented manner. Health data is being developed and used to a greater extent and in compliance with data protection regulations. In this way, scientific findings can be generated more quickly and incorporated into better health care, both in terms of prevention, diagnostics and therapy.
Options for supply management by health insurance companies are being expanded
It is very good that the health and long-term care insurance funds are now finally given more opportunities to use health data for the targeted advice of their policyholders, for example to provide specific information about special care offers or to point out prevention offers. However, as the legislative process progresses, it should be made clear that chronically ill insured persons are also included and can benefit from the advice. This is precisely where the cross-sectoral data from the health insurance companies have the potential to better identify serious medical problems and to advise the insured.
Faster use of billing data in the outpatient medical sector
The plan to forward data from the outpatient area more quickly is also very welcome. The corona pandemic in particular has shown how important timely data availability is. However, the legislature should supplement the regulation to the effect that it must also be possible for the health insurance companies to use the billing data for advice and care purposes. In addition, the deadlines and frequencies for the transmission of data from the health insurance companies to the research data center must be reconsidered as a whole, as they are neither useful for science nor technically feasible in the form currently planned.”
Current photos of the vdek CEOs for reporting can be found in our photo archive.
The Association of Substitute Funds e. V. (vdek) represents the interests and service provider of all six health insurance companies, which together insure more than 28 million people in Germany:
– Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), Twitter: @TK_Press
– BARMER, Twitter: @BARMER_Presse
– DAK Health, Twitter: @DAKHealth
– KKH Commercial Health Insurance, Twitter: @KKH_Politik
– hkk – Handelskrankenkasse, Twitter: @hkk_Presse
– HEK – Hanseatische Krankenkasse, Twitter: @HEKonline
The Association of Substitute Funds e. V. (vdek) was founded in Eisenach on May 20, 1912 under the name “Association of registered commercial relief funds (substitute funds)”. Until 2009, the association operated under the name “Association of Employee Health Insurance Funds e. V.” (VdAK).
More than 300 employees work at the vdek headquarters in Berlin. In the individual federal states, 15 state representations with a total of around 400 and more than 30 employees in the care bases ensure the regional presence of the substitute health insurance funds.