Medical paperwork to be digitised by 2018

The paperwork that enables patients to receive a refund after visiting a doctor should be digitised by 2018, public healthcare minister Maggie De Block has said.

“It will be possible to send the doctor’s fee in a safe way directly to the mutuality, so patients are refunded directly via their bank account,” she said on Radio 1. Those who specifically ask for it will still receive a paper certificate.

In 2017, a digital certificate will prove incapacity for work, replacing the current paper doctor’s certificate. Later, the certificates from specialists will also be digitised. Prescriptions will also be sent directly to pharmacists. The system – called Recip-e – already exists, but many pharmacists don’t use it yet.

Digitisation of the paperwork is part of a bigger plan for e-health. From 2018, patients will also be able to consult their personal health record online through secure, validated apps. For the creation of such a file in a large database, patients need to give their permission. They can do it at the doctor, hospital or online.

De Block acknowledged that the transition to e-health would not be easy. “But it will pay off as the red tape for caregivers will be reduced and they will be able to devote more time to their patients,” she said. “Patients and mutualities will also have less paperwork.”