SCM Microsystems Inc. announced that its eHeatlh500 mobile terminal has received the required certification for use with the new eHealth cards in stage two of the introduction of the electronic health cards in Germany.
The certification for SCM’s eHealth500 mobile reader comes from gematik, the German health care organization overseeing the implementation of the country’s eHealth program. SCM had previously received gematik certification for its eHealth200 BCS stationary terminals in September 2008.
The eHealth500 mobile terminal can be used by doctors and other health care providers to read and temporarily store data on the new German electronic health card (eGK) and the traditional health insurance card (KVK) when away from their medical practice, such as during home visits, in nursing homes and retirement homes.
Back in the medical office or hospital, the data can be transferred via a USB interface to the doctor’s, pharmacist’s or hospital’s network for permanent archival. Local network storage of patient data is the goal of the first stage of the German eHealth program. In a second stage, a secure country-wide network will be established, so that data can be appropriately shared among and between medical providers and health insurance companies and agencies.
The eHealth500 mobile terminal fulfils the security requirements of the German National Security Agency BSI (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnologie). It also enables firmware upgrades to accommodate future updates, which ensures that the terminals will be able to continue to comply with evolving requirements throughout all stages of the German eHealth program. This protects the investment of doctors and other health care providers, whose initial purchase of the terminals will also be subsidized by the German health insurance industry.
Once the firmware of the mobile terminals has been updated during the planned second phase of the German eHealth program, the terminal will have the capability of not only reading electronic health cards, but also processing health professional cards (HPC) used to authenticate health care providers and secure module cards (SMC) utilized for secure data communication. Hence, the terminal can be used as both a mobile and as stationary terminal.
The pocket calculator-sized terminal has a processor to access and update data under the complex requirements of the electronic health card. The graphical display shows all relevant patient data as well as device information such as battery status and free storage space. It can store up to 200 patient records, and all device settings or patient records are stored in memory, even if the batteries are fully discharged. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/secureidnews-4.gif)
