Electronic prescriptions, known as eRx, are the new default prescription method for tens of millions of people in Germany covered by public health insurance. One of the primary benefits of eRx is making the process of filling prescriptions online for fast home delivery as convenient as ordering anything else online. Thanks to the rollout of eHealth-CardLink, approved solutions from online pharmacies now make this a reality. With Redcare Pharmacy’s CardLink solution now approved, smartpatient can integrate fulfilment into the digital patient services it provides to partners in the pharmaceutical industry.

How CardLink Unlocks the Full Potential of eRx

When the eRx program was rolled out in Germany, it allowed HCPs to generate prescriptions digitally and enabled patients to fill them in brick-and-mortar pharmacies using only their electronic health insurance card (Elektronische Gesundheitskarte or eGK). To fill prescriptions online, however, patients still needed a paper printout of their e-prescription with a QR code that needed to be scanned within the app of an online pharmacy. While this was still significantly better than filling prescriptions online using the traditional paper prescriptions – which had to be mailed to the online pharmacy – it still adds unnecessary complexity for both HCPs and patients.

With the introduction of CardLink, however, the need for a paper printout is eliminated. Rather, patients need only their NFC-enabled electronic health insurance card and smartphone. Approved CardLink solutions offered within online pharmacies’ apps can then access any e-prescriptions that have been made for the patient, allowing them to place an order immediately.

smartpatient’s parent company, Redcare Pharmacy – operators of the Shop Apotheke online pharmacy in Germany – guarantee next-day delivery for orders placed before 6 pm during the week and before noon on Saturdays.

The speed and convenience of ordering online finally unlock the benefits of eRx for millions of patients in Germany. Furthermore, it enhances the digital patient services that we offer our partners in the pharmaceutical industry.

How CardLink Elevates the Digital Patient Services We Offer Pharma Partners

We build digital patient support programs for pharma partners run upon our MyTherapy platform, usually intended for specific patient populations – such as those living with a certain disease or taking a specific treatment.

The programs offer daily treatment, adherence, and persistence support via features including tailored content, medication reminders, measurement and wellbeing diaries, and medication inventory tracking. Being a subsidiary of Redcare Pharmacy, we can integrate eRx functionality that takes advantage of CardLink, offering a fulfillment service that complements the other features available on the programs we develop.

Electronic prescriptions have been found to reduce prescription errors and improve adherence by making the process more convenient for more people. Reducing the barriers to filling prescriptions online not only gives people the flexibility to choose the method that best fits their lifestyle and needs, but it can also be invaluable to people with reduced mobility or who need to travel to their nearest brick-and-mortar pharmacy. This is further enhanced by other eRx features, such as the ability for HCPs to make prescriptions up to a year in advance and select the date at which they are activated – which can save time and effort for predictable repeat prescriptions.

Integrating eRx functionality within MyTherapy partner programs, therefore, enhances the value of such programs to a wide array of users.

For pharma, addressing issues such as adherence and persistence remains one of, if not the primary drivers of such digital support programs. Not only does doing so improve patient outcomes and quality of life, but it also represents a sustainable and scalable business model by increasing refill rates and reducing treatment drop-offs.

Talk to Us About Running Digital Patient Support on Our MyTherapy Platform

If you are interested in learning more about our MyTherapy platform and how you can offer comprehensive digital patient support to your patient population – including fulfillment driven by our integrated eRx and CardLink functionality – don’t hesitate to book a meeting by clicking here.