Federal Health Minister Ulla Schmidt has announced that Germany’s electronic health-insurance card will be launched on 1 January 2006, at a cost estimated to be around €1.8bn.
As Germany’s population is nearly 83m, its ehealth-insurance card scheme is currently the largest single egovernment project in the world. Each card will hold a digital certificate and a photograph of the holder, which will be used for mainly administrative purposes. Use of the card will be mandatory for administrative functions, while medical functions will remain optional.
Quelle: BJHC, 11.11.2004
