The ePA duty for medical practices means that doctors must upload certain treatment data to your electronic patient record (elektronische Patientenakte, ePA) unless you object. This affects you directly because you can control what ends up in the record. This guide shows which data must be uploaded under section 347 of Book V of the Social Code (SGB V) and what rights you have.
In short: Under section 347 (2) SGB V, practices must upload laboratory results, imaging reports, reports on invasive or surgical measures and electronic doctor’s letters from the current treatment to the ePA, provided you have not objected. You can object to uploads. Last updated: November 2026 (KBV information sheet, as of November 2024).
Key Points
- The duty to fill the record covers, under section 347 (2) SGB V, laboratory results, imaging reports, reports on measures and electronic doctor’s letters from the current treatment.
- The condition is that the data exist electronically and that you have not objected.
- Older data can be uploaded but do not have to be.
- Practices must inform you about the data and your right to object, explicitly in the case of sensitive data.
- You have had the ePA itself since 15 January 2025 under the opt-out rule, and an objection to the record is possible at any time.
What Is the ePA Duty for Practices?
Under section 341 SGB V, the electronic patient record is a record that insured people manage themselves. Practices are obliged to fill it as far as the law provides. The central provision is section 347 SGB V. According to a summary by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), as of November 2024, section 347 (2) SGB V names four groups that belong in the ePA from the current treatment. The condition is that the data exist electronically and the patient has not objected. What else the record can contain is explained in What is in the ePA and who may access it.
| Type of data | Duty to upload | Reference (per KBV information sheet) |
|---|---|---|
| Laboratory results | Yes, from the current treatment | Section 347 (2) SGB V |
| Imaging reports | Yes, from the current treatment | Section 347 (2) SGB V |
| Reports on invasive, surgical or conservative measures | Yes, from the current treatment | Section 347 (2) SGB V |
| Electronic doctor’s letters | Yes, from the current treatment | Section 347 (2) SGB V |
| Data for use cases such as the electronic medication list | Later duty | Section 347 (1) SGB V |
| Older data | No, voluntary if necessary for care | Section 347 (2) sentence 3 SGB V |
Can I Object to the Practice Filling the Record?
Yes. The practice may not upload data if you have objected. According to the KBV information sheet, the objection must be noted verifiably in the treatment documentation, and a simple note is sufficient. You can object to individual records. An exception applies to data belonging to a use case such as the medication process: there you can object only to the whole use case, not to individual entries.
This is different from an objection to the record as a whole. How it works and which deadline applies is described in Objecting to the ePA: step-by-step guide. Under section 344 (3) SGB V, an objection is possible at any time even after the record has been set up, with deletion of the record including all data and no restoration.
What Duties to Inform Does the Practice Have?
Under section 347 (3) SGB V, the practice must inform you which data will be uploaded and that you can object. For particularly sensitive data, such as mental illness, sexually transmitted infections and abortions, the notice of the right to object must be given explicitly (section 347 (3) sentence 6 SGB V). Under section 347 (4) sentence 4 SGB V, the practice also points out that you can request further uploads.
This has practical value: you do not have to ask on your own what goes into the record. If you do not want sensitive findings there, the right moment is the conversation in the practice before the data are transmitted.
How Long Does the Practice Have to Upload, and Who Sees the Data?
According to the KBV information sheet, there is no fixed statutory deadline for uploading. The practice has time within the access authorisation, which by default is 90 days from when the health card is read in, and should upload sooner if colleagues will need the data at the next visit. If the access period expires, uploading is only possible again at the next contact, once access exists again. If you objected during the access period, the practice may not upload. Practice software should log which user account accessed the ePA (section 309 (1) SGB V).
On request the practice also uploads data that are not part of the duty. Under section 347 (4) SGB V this requires that the data come from the current treatment, exist electronically and that you have explicitly consented. The consent must be documented. Electronic copies of the treatment file under section 630g (2) of the Civil Code (BGB) must be uploaded by the practice at your request (section 347 (5) SGB V).
What Does This Mean for You in Everyday Life?
People who often change practice and specialty, such as students after moving, benefit because findings do not have to be requested anew each time. The price is that more data sit in a central record. It is therefore worth knowing the settings in your insurer’s ePA app. Whether the ePA functions run for you through the health card or an app is a separate topic, see Digital health card via app: replacement for the plastic card?.
Assumption: you have blood taken at your family doctor. The laboratory result exists electronically and comes from the current treatment. If you have not objected, the practice uploads it to the ePA under section 347 (2) SGB V. If you have objected, it stays in the practice documentation. Both are permissible, and the decision is yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my doctor have to upload everything to the ePA?
No. Under section 347 (2) SGB V, laboratory results, imaging reports, reports on measures and electronic doctor’s letters from the current treatment are mandatory. Older data are voluntary. You can object at any time.
Where can I see what has been uploaded?
You see the content in the ePA provided by your health insurer, usually through its app. How the record is structured is set out in section 341 SGB V. You can manage practices’ access rights there.
Can I hide individual findings?
You can object to individual records. For data of a use case such as the medication process, only an objection to the whole use case is possible according to the KBV information sheet.
Do pharmacies have the same duty?
This guide covers the duty of medical practices. Separate rules apply to pharmacies, which you can ask about at your chamber of pharmacists or at your pharmacy.
What to Do Now
- Open your insurer’s ePA app and check what is already in your record.
- Ask the practice which data it uploads, and say there if you want to object to individual findings.
- Decide whether you want to object to the record as a whole, and use the objection guide for that.
- Check the practices’ access rights in the app and adjust them.
Related Articles
- What is in the ePA and who may access it
- Objecting to the ePA: step-by-step guide
- Digital health card via app: replacement for the plastic card?
- Redeeming an e-prescription without the app
- Emergency care reform 2027: the new rules
Sources: KBV, PraxisInfoSpezial Elektronische Patientenakte: answers to legal questions (as of November 2024, in German), Section 341 SGB V, electronic patient record (statute text, accessed November 2026, in German) and Section 344 SGB V, objection (statute text, accessed November 2026, in German). The current version of sections 341 to 349 SGB V prevails. Academycon offers personal advice on health insurance at How we work (in German).
Last updated: November 2026. This guide is general information, not individual advice.
