It has been available since Tuesday MyHealth app, the new Application through which Users will have access to their medical and health data and will be able to view all their prescriptions and referrals that have been issued, while simultaneously receiving notifications for each prescription or referral that is issued.

The app is practically to supplement the electronic prescription system, which, although it has been in operation since 2011, has not, until now, allowed citizens to access their own personal or family data or to find out what their doctor has prescribed.

The goal is to enrich the electronic prescription history with the results of the patient’s medical tests, regardless of which hospital unit, clinic, or health center in the country they were performed, as well as the patient’s hospitalization history, etc., so that their medical data «follows» them everywhere.

The new app was presented to the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis by the Minister of State and Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis and the Minister of Health Vasilis Kikilias, at a meeting held at the Maximos Mansion. MyHealth is an app that provides users with quick, easy, and secure access to their data regarding electronic and paperless prescriptions. Specifically:

They can view all the prescriptions and referrals that have been issued for their AMKA (issuance number and date, the physician who prepared the document, and their entire contents)
They can receive notifications on their cell phones (push notifications) for each prescription or referral issued for their AMKA through the electronic prescription system

The above features are also available to each person’s dependents. Currently, the app includes prescriptions and referrals issued from January 2020 onward. All relevant data from 2012 will be added this fall.

The app is already available for iOS and Android devices. The only requirement for using it is registration with the electronic prescription system (ehealth.gov.gr). To securely access the app, users are first authenticated using their Taxisnet credentials and then by entering a one-time password (OTP – One-Time Password), which is sent to a mobile phone number verified as belonging to the citizen.

As noted in the presentation, the app’s interface is very user-friendly; it displays the pharmacy where the prescription was filled, a map, the address, phone number, the medication itself, the active ingredient, the dosing schedule, the patient’s copayment, and the relevant diagnoses. It also displays the prescription’s issuance and expiration dates, whether it is a repeat prescription, the doctor’s notes, and a barcode for processing the transaction.

The Electronic Patient Record Is Coming

The MyHealth serves as the prototype for the Electronic Health Record and was implemented by the Electronic Social Security Governance Agency (IDIKA S.A.), which is an agency supervised by the Ministry of Digital Governance. This means that new features will be added on an ongoing basis, starting with medical certificates, which will soon be available both through electronic prescribing and via the app. Features such as diagnostic tests or radiological examinations for every citizen will be added gradually.

In addition, push notifications for each new prescription, new referral, etc., represent an upgrade to the existing paperless prescription system, as until now citizens were notified via SMS and/or email. Now, notifications will also be sent through the app, with much greater detail and reliability.

As Mr. Pierrakakis pointed out during the presentation, citizens will be able to manage and view consolidated information primarily related to prescriptions and referrals, while Medical certificates—for example, for enrollment in a gym or swimming pool—will be added within the month.

«Citizens will have immediate and easy access to their prescription history; for their dependents, this will initially cover a period of one and a half years, starting in January 2020, while by September, this history will cover the period starting in 2012. In other words, every citizen will be able to see, over time, what has been prescribed to them under their AMKA. And this is extremely useful for getting a comprehensive, cumulative view of one’s situation and the profile in their medical record. »In addition, they will now receive push notifications for new prescriptions through the digital prescription system,” he emphasized.

What is currently missing in order to fully compile a medical record are the tests that a person undergoes at a diagnostic imaging center, as well as the data generated during a hospital stay. The Minister of Digital Governance has pledged, however, that all of this will be incorporated over time: «By utilizing the Recovery Fund, we will digitize a number of elements that will be integrated into this system. So the complete medical record will be established, step by step. But we won’t wait for a final product. We’re taking this very strong first step today,« he emphasized.

«A »Remedy" for Overprescribing

The goal is for the new app to also serve as a tool for combating the phenomenon of overprescribing, which the Prime Minister warned about when referring to the rationalization of pharmaceutical spending: «This data is extremely useful for formulating public health policies, but also to help us rationalize pharmaceutical spending, so that we can be sure the right medication is prescribed at the right cost to the right patient.”. And a word of caution to all those—and there aren’t many, but they do exist—doctors who continue to overprescribe medications that aren’t actually necessary. Be careful, because we’ll be on your case from now on.» he emphasized pointedly.

Ok. Mitsotakis pointed out that digital applications in healthcare are just one piece of a broader plan for a truly new National Health System: «This proposal for the new National Health System will be a holistic proposal covering the entire spectrum of health services, from prevention to patient care within hospitals, as well as what happens when they are discharged. And, of course, throughout this entire effort, the use of new technologies—such as the one we will be presenting today—will play a catalytic role.».

What is the current situation?

2,381,350 citizens registered for electronic prescriptions
22,221,246 million electronic prescriptions have been issued
Currently, more than 33% of prescriptions are for generic drugs on a daily basis
Adding Electronic Referrals for Medical Tests
8,051,036 electronic referrals have been issued
It is a prime example of digitization and process simplification while simultaneously empowering citizens, especially during the pandemic (e.g., avoiding
(transportation)
Digital prescribing played a significant role in Operation Freedom

What's New in the New App

Citizens can manage and view a consolidated overview of the information regarding their prescriptions and referrals

It provides immediate and easy access to their prescription history as well as that of their covered family members
Receives notifications via push notifications about new prescriptions and test referrals
It provides access to citizens' personal and family medical and health data (e.g., filled and active prescriptions)
Expansion of the service from SMS and email to push notifications
Logging into the app is done with enhanced security (2FA, SMS OTP)
The app serves as a preliminary electronic health record for the patient

For each prescription and referral, citizens can view detailed information in a very user-friendly and easy-to-use environment, such as:

the pharmacy where the prescription was filled (map, address, phone number)
the formulation, the active ingredient, the dosing frequency
his contribution to the final cost
ICD-10 and related diagnoses
the dates of availability, issuance, and expiration of the prescription/referral
if the prescription is a repeat prescription
doctor's notes (for reference)
the barcode for performing the action

Next steps

Enhancing the app with the Medical Certificates service
Expansion of the historical data for prescriptions and referrals to their full scope (from 2012 to the present)

What people said about the app

The Minister of Health Vasilis Kikilias He emphasized immediately afterward that «the essence of the MyHealth app is that we are trying to make citizens» daily lives easier.« Speaking about the new digital service, Mr. Kikilias emphasized that »we are now moving to the heart of the healthcare system, which is the medical record—that is, the ability of every citizen to access their own data and use it to receive services, whether they need prescriptions, whether they need medical referrals to participate in sports, or whether they need their medical history to communicate with a healthcare professional. So, from the citizen’s perspective, the app is excellent. And it’s excellent for the healthcare system as well, because public health data is essential for formulating health policies. And what is the government’s goal? “A higher standard of quality in the provision of health services for citizens.”.

For his part, the Deputy Minister of Digital Governance, responsible for the Simplification of Procedures, George Georgantas, He congratulated IDIKA and its executives «because, during the pandemic, they managed not only to support all the existing applications related to the government’s benefit policy, but also to support all these new applications at the same time.».

The President and Chief Executive Officer of IDIKA Niki Tsouma He noted that the process is moving forward step by step, «constantly launching new services for citizens, so that we can ultimately realize our vision of a fully digital citizen file.».