Pharmacists expressing concerns over rising prescription errors due to electronic prescription system
The e-prescription system, introduced in 2023 and made mandatory since January 2024, has been causing concerns due to its instability and unreliability. According to the German pharmacists' association, these issues have led to multiple outages and disruptions, affecting tens of thousands of patients [1].
Designed to streamline the process of obtaining medication for insured persons, the e-prescription redemption process is user-friendly, requiring minimal input from the patient – just the insertion of the health card in a card reader at the pharmacy [2]. However, the system's frequent crashes and unstable runs have disrupted this smooth process.
The system's relative newness may expose it to technical vulnerabilities and scaling challenges, contributing to its instability. Furthermore, the lack of sufficient fallback mechanisms or flexibility for pharmacies to dispense medications during downtime exacerbates the impact on patient care [1].
Thomas Preis, the head of the Federal Association, compared a delayed train to an inaccessible e-prescription, stating that the latter can have serious consequences for people's health [3]. He criticised the system, stating that it outpaces Deutsche Bahn in terms of unreliability.
The pharmacists' association has urged the federal digital agency Gematik to urgently improve system stability and introduce more flexibility for pharmacies to continue providing medications quickly and without bureaucratic delays when the system fails [1].
While no other sources explicitly address specific reasons for the failures of the e-prescription system beyond the German context, the key cause appears to be technical instability and insufficient system robustness to handle demand, leading to large-scale outages affecting patients.
References: [1] German Pharmacists' Association Report, 2025 [2] German Federal Ministry of Health, E-Prescription System Description, 2023 [3] German Federal Association Press Release, 2025
In the light of the German Pharmacists' Association Report, 2025, concerns over the stability and reliability of the e-prescription system arise from its technical instability and insufficient system robustness to handle demand, leading to large-scale outages impacting health-and-wellness of patients. To this end, Thomas Preis, the head of the Federal Association, likened the unavailability of an e-prescription to a delayed train, emphasizing the severe consequences for people's health.
The integration of the e-prescription system, particularly in regards to medical-conditions and health-and-wellness, is further compounded by the lack of flexibility in pharmacies to dispense medications during downtime due to its instability. The ongoing instability of this system, while attributable to technology, outpaces Deutsche Bahn in terms of unreliability according to the German pharmacists' association.
