-
Keystone
![On March 7th, Switzerland will vote on the E-ID. In the Confederation: Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter (center) Christian Rathgeb, President of the Conference of Cantonal Governments (right), and Hannes Germann, President of the Swiss Association of Municipalities, after the launch of the voting campaign.]()
—
1/7
On March 7th, Switzerland will vote on the E-ID. In the Confederation: Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter (center) Christian Rathgeb, President of the Conference of Cantonal Governments (right), and Hannes Germann, President of the Swiss Association of Municipalities, after the launch of the voting campaign.
—-
Facebook Daniel Graf
![Because the referendum was called against the law.]()
—
2/7
Because the referendum was called against the law.
—-
keystone-sda.ch
![The opponents fear the misuse of data. In the picture: FDP national councilor Doris Fiala from the committee for a no to the E-ID law.]()
—
3/7
The opponents fear the misuse of data. In the picture: FDP national councilor Doris Fiala from the committee for a no to the E-ID law.
—-
Keystone
![The electronic patient record contains very sensitive data.]()
—
7/7
The electronic patient record contains very sensitive data.
—-
—-
On March 7th, Switzerland will vote on electronic identity, or E-ID for short. This identification should make life in the digital world easier and safer. “No chaos with countless logins and passwords and more control and transparency over your own data,” promises the alliance that is behind the introduction.
–
The E-ID is to be used in many places: for online shopping (e.g. for age verification), for visits to authorities and for ordering extracts from criminal records and other evidence from the home PC – and for the electronic patient record (EPD), which is currently being introduced.
–
Hochuli: “Unacceptable”
This drives the Swiss Patient Organization (SPO) to the barricades. “The SPO has no problems with the E-ID per se,” says President Susanne Hochuli (55). But: “Linking the E-ID and the electronic patient record is unacceptable for us unless the state is the issuer of the E-ID.”
–
The electronic patient fileX-rays, doctor reports and other health documents will no longer be with the family doctor or in the hospital, but will be digitized and collected in the electronic patient record (EPD). Access to this would only be given to the patient and to certain trusted persons such as family members, doctors and other health care professionals. The EPD is intended to avoid treatment errors and unnecessary examinations.
—
Indeed, the law stipulates that private companies issue the E-ID. And the gap between these and the electronic patient record is tight. There are currently two providers for the EPD: Elca and HIN. And there are two providers of an E-ID: Elca and the SwissSign Group, which is backed by state-owned companies such as Post, Swisscom, SBB, banks, insurance companies and health insurance companies. The consortium publishes SwissID and is the undisputed top dog on the Swiss market with 1.7 million digital identities.
–
The SwissSign Group is also involved in the EPD: A year ago it teamed up with HIN. It makes the SwissID available for EPD access for both health professionals and patients.
–
Data from the same provider
The EPD and E-ID are therefore in the same hand. You don’t have to have a lot of imagination to imagine a possible abuse: Employees who steal and sell data. By linking the two, unauthorized third parties could not only shop online with someone else’s identity. They also had access to operation reports, drug cards, and X-ray results.
–
“Health data is particularly worthy of protection, because the potential for abuse is enormous – especially if health insurers are on board with the largest private E-ID provider,” says Hochuli, referring to the SwissSign Group. And she is not alone. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals are calling on the electorate in an urgent appeal to put a no in the ballot box on March 7th.
–
The providers, on the other hand, assure that there is no potential for abuse. “The SwissSign Group has no access to patient data because it is not integrated into a filing system,” says spokeswoman Sandra Hedinger. “A strict separation of the data is ensured,” says Elca spokesman Francesco Laratta. It goes without saying that strict access controls have been set up not only from outside but also within the company.
–
IT security specialist warns
IT security specialist Daniel Muster sees it differently. Last year he wrote in the “Schweizerische Ärztezeitung”: “The issuer of the E-ID cannot pretend to be his E-ID customer with very little effort. In this way, he can, for example, log into the e-patient dossier as a health care professional and view or even change data there. “
–
Spokeswoman Hedinger replied that she could not understand this statement. Furthermore: “There can always be failure in human behavior. However, this risk is not linked to the EPD or the E-ID, but can occur in all industries and areas. ” In addition, misuse of the data is punishable by law.
–
This is not enough for today’s patient protection officer and former Aargau health director Hochuli. “The electronic patient record should make sensitive health data more secure. But the opposite must now be feared. The SPO therefore demands clarity from the Federal Council that patient data and E-ID must not come from the same provider. “
–
This is what the E-ID is all about![]()
—
Shopping, dealing with the authorities or taking out insurance: In the future, it should all be easy and secure to do online. In order to prove your own identity online without any doubt, a state-checked digital proof should be created.
This E-ID should be issued by private companies. For this reason, a referendum has been called against the E-ID law. The opponents demand that the state issue the e-ID. You fear data abuse. Proponents, on the other hand, say the data is secure, but private companies can better respond to customer needs. Switzerland will vote on it on March 7th.
—-
Published: 25.01.2021, 01:09 am–
—
—
—
—
—
