The St.Gallen-based start-up OnlineDoctor is launching a pilot project aimed at issuing electronic prescriptions. This would allow dermatologists to prescribe medication digitally in addition to offering a diagnosis and recommended treatment plans to patients, further details of which can be found in a press release.
OnlineDoctor is the first telemedicine provider to offer such a service, the press release states. To achieve this, the company, which was founded in 2016, is collaborating with Health Info Net (HIN) from Wallisellen in the canton of Zurich, which offers its HIN standard to guarantee data security in the healthcare sector. Moreover, the company is working with the Bern-based software developer HCI Solutions, which is a subsidiary of the Galenica Group.
According to the press release, a quarter of all dermatologists are connected to OnlineDoctor platform. As part of the pilot project, they can now issue patients with an electronic prescription via OnlineDoctor using the Documedis solution from HCI Solutions. With the help of the HIN Sign service from Health Info Net, doctors can sign the prescription form with a legally compliant electronic signature.
Electronic prescriptions of this kind contain the same information as a paper prescription and are also forgery-proof and copy-protected. However, pharmacies require the appropriate technical infrastructure to redeem an e-prescription. According to the press release, health data is not stored by external partners.
“My patients no longer need to attend my office in person and wait for several days for their prescription to arrive by post”, comments Paul Scheidegger, co-founder of OnlineDoctor and dermatologist from Brugg in the canton of Aargau, in the press release. “In the pilot phase, we can now see under specific conditions how electronic prescriptions are received by doctors, pharmacies and patients on a day-to-day basis”, he adds.
