eHBA – everything you need to know
The electronic health professional card (eHBA) is a personalised smart card that healthcare professionals can use for personal identification in the Telematics Infrastructure (TI). The card contains certificates with the holders’ personal data, including their professional affiliation. It is used for authentication, encryption and decryption, and providing signatures within the TI.
eHPC: all benefits at a glance
- Secure access to the telematics infrastructure
- Online-only application – no printing, no posting
- Write access to TI applications
- Qualified electronic signature (QES), e.g. for e-prescriptions
- Batch and convenience signatures possible
- Encrypted data exchange
- Access to the electronic patient record
- Identification is possible online via the electronic ID (eID) or in person via PostIdent
Experiencing difficulties with ordering an eHBA or SMC-B? We offer support sessions twice a week, assisting you with any questions relating to TI card applications.
You can register or get more information here.
The functions of the eHPC
With the Electronic Health Professional Card, healthcare professionals authenticate themselves in the Telematics Infrastructure (TI) in order to use TI applications. Which applications within the TI can be used depends on the access rights of the respective professional group. The eHBA always includes a qualified electronic signature (QES), which can be used to sign things like e-prescriptions, electronic certificates of incapacity for work (eAU), billing documents and electronic prescriptions (eVerordnungen).
The eHPC is planned or already mandatory for these professions
The electronic health professional card is already mandatory for some healthcare professionals. This applies primarily to doctors, dentists, pharmacists and psychotherapists. Other professional groups in the healthcare sector need an eHBA for personal authentication, for electronic signatures and to be able to equip their organisations with an SMC-B.
How to apply for an eHPC
The respective card issuer organisations are responsible for issuing the eHBA. Where the Electronic Health Professional Card is applied for varies depending on the professional field. Members of professions regulated by professional chambers – i.e. doctors, dentists, pharmacists and psychotherapists – apply for their eHBA via their professional chamber. For the other healthcare service providers who are not state-licensed and do not have their own chamber, the Health Professionals Register (eGBR) serves as the central point of contact. Members of the professional groups pharmacy engineers, pharmacy assistants and EU mail-order pharmacists receive their reference number from gematik, the National Agency for Digital Medicine.
If the application is approved by the responsible card issuer, the eHBA can be ordered from a trust service provider (TSP) – for example from D-Trust, a company of the Bundesdruckerei Group.
This was the path taken by Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe to TI.
Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (JUH) was looking for a way to quickly connect to the telematics infrastructure, both technically and administratively, while placing as little strain as possible on local facilities. With D-Trust as its partner, Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe has found a process that saves time and resources for employees – and ensures a high level of acceptance for TI applications from the outset.
Important products related to the eHPC
Frequently asked questions about the eHBA
Digitalisation is changing many processes in the healthcare sector. This naturally raises questions. We answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the Electronic Health Professional Card here.
Certified trust service providers such as D-Trust, a company of the Bundesdruckerei Group, produce the Electronic Health Professional Cards for the Telematics Infrastructure (TI). For this reason, after applying via the responsible card issuer, the card is ordered via D-Trust’s eHealth application portal.
For security reasons, Electronic Health Professional Cards have a maximum validity of five years.
Yes. The purchase of electronic health professional cards is subsidised through reimbursement agreements with the GKV-Spitzenverband. The amount of funding differs across different sectors of the healthcare system. For detailed information, please contact the card issuer responsible for you.
You can find information about funding the pages of the GKV-Spitzenverband. You can find D-Trust’s prices further down.
The delivery time for the electronic health professional card is around ten days after D-Trust has received the complete documentation. An application is considered complete once: the application has been completed online, identification has been successfully carried out, and D-Trust has received approval from the responsible card issuer.
During periods of very high order volumes, delivery may take longer.
Prices for the electronic Health Professional Card (eHPC)
eHPC
- enables all doctors, dentists and psychotherapists to authenticate themselves to the telematics infrastructure in the healthcare sector. The costs for doctor ID cards are partially covered by the operating cost allowance in accordance with the financing agreement.
- Valid for 5 years
* Prices in euros (€), plus statutory VAT.
eHPC
- enables all nursing professionals, midwives, physiotherapists, paramedics, occupational therapists, podiatrists, speech and language therapists, nutrition therapists, massage therapists, medical hydrotherapists and dietitians to authenticate themselves to the telematics infrastructure in healthcare. The costs of Health Professional Cards are partly covered by the operating cost allowance under the refinancing agreement.
- Valid for 5 years
* Prices in euros (€), plus statutory VAT.
eHPC
- enables all pharmacists to authenticate themselves to the telematics infrastructure in the healthcare system. The costs for the pharmacist ID card are partially covered by the operating cost allowance in accordance with the refinancing agreement.
- Valid for 5 years
* Prices in euros (€), plus statutory VAT.
Got questions about the eHBA? Contact us:
+49 (0)30 2598 - 4050
ehealth-support@bdr.de