Sagem Orga: Ideal start for the electronic health card in test regions

"Sagem Orga has already set standards for security and functionality in this first test phase, since the cards from the Paderborn-based health expert already have key and security certificates for all future business processes and will thus not have to be replaced later," says Silvio Stockmann, Vice President and head of the Business Unit Health, ID and Banking of Sagem Orga. "A special point about our company is that our solution was the first to be approved by gematik and that we already provide the whole value chain in the test regions - from cards, modules and personalization to lettershop and even terminals - completely from Germany. There is hardly any other company that is so well prepared for the complex challenges of equipping the market for the first time and later, as part of normal operation," notes Stockmann.

Generally speaking, the test phase is divided into two stages. First of all, optimum interaction between card readers and the new high-performance smart card is tested, and the process of issuing them to insured persons is examined to make sure it goes smoothly. In addition, the flow of data within a medical practice is documented – for the first time in real operation. Later, this flow of data will also be smooth between health professionals, emergency vehicles, hospitals and pharmacies. Sagem Orga is currently supporting a large number of well-known health insurers in the first test phase and ensuring smooth migration to the electronic health card.

In the next stage, the tests in the pilot regions will be expanded to include additional functions for which the card is now ready, for example electronic prescriptions on the card or online querying of the status of insured persons so that misuse can be avoided.

The tests with 10,000 electronic health cards will be followed by tests with up to 100,000 smart cards before the whole of Germany is supplied with 80 million health cards. Leading heath insurers are currently issuing invitations to tender for initial supply of the cards and subsequent normal issuance.

The new German health card currently contains the data on insured persons that is also stored on the health insurance cards used to date. A new feature is the uniform European-wide health insurance number, which is independent of the health insurer, and preparation for a qualified signature that will enable citizens to communicate more securely with their insurer and more efficiently with government offices, protect data and permit legally secure transactions. The new electronic health card can thus be used by insured persons for more than just health applications. In addition, a photo of the insured person and his or her personal data for the European health card is attached for European use.

The electronic health card from Sagem Orga is based on the highly secure operating system MICARDO, version 3.1. This variant has been implemented on a 72kB EEPROM semiconductor and thus offers reserve capacity for loading applications later. In November, Sagem Orga successfully completed the Common Criteria security evaluation for the MICARDO operating system and was also the first company on the market to be given approval by gematik.

Sagem Orga in the German healthcare market - Facts and figures

Experience

• Almost 20 years of experience in the German healthcare market
• 40 German health insurers are customers
• 16% market share in the field of health insurance cards
• More than 3 million health insurance cards shipped in 2006
• Leader for health terminals in Germany with a market share of 70%

Expertise

• The most extensive value chain in Germany:
  • The only producer of modules
  • The only producer with card manufacturing operations
• Consulting company for the German Ministry of Health in the 2003 Bit4Health project (together with IBM, Frauenhofer, SAP and ICW)

Leading role in the electronic health card

• The first company whose operating system has been certified (gematik certificate number 0001)
• The first company with a proven and certified trust center connection to the market leader D-Trust (Bundesdruckerei)
• The first company to offer a qualified card for electronic signatures in full compliance with the German Signature Act
• The first concept for an electronic prescription for private German health insurers
• The first company to roll out and ship the electronic health card for test regions in full compliance with current and future specifications
• Delivery to the first test region of Flensburg began in 2003
• Delivery to the test regions of Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony in 2007

For further information, please visit:
http://www.sagem-orga.com