ELGA: Electronic Health Records in Austria

If you visit a doctor or collect prescription medicine in Austria, much of your medical information is entered into a nationwide system. This is ELGA, the Elektronische Gesundheitsakte, or electronic health record. This guide explains what it contains, who can see it and how you can decide whether to participate.

In brief

• Anyone with an Austrian social insurance number who is treated in the Austrian healthcare system generally participates in ELGA by default.
• ELGA contains the electronic medication list (E-Medikation) and electronic medical reports (E-Befunde).
• Doctors, hospitals and care institutions can access data for 90 days; pharmacies, emergency services and the 1450 health advice service can access it for 28 days.
• Insurers, employers, authorities and doctors acting as experts cannot access the data.
• You can opt out of all or part of ELGA at any time and withdraw that decision at any time.

What is ELGA and what does it contain?

Austrian hospitals and many medical practices have stored patient data electronically for some time, but previously this data was generally available only to the individual institution. ELGA makes this health information available nationwide, across institutions, regardless of location or time.

ELGA has two main components:

• E-Medikation: a list of medicines prescribed by doctors and dispensed by pharmacies.
• E-Befunde: electronic medical reports, including:
• hospital medical and nursing discharge reports (Entlassungsbriefe),
• laboratory results,
• imaging reports, such as X-ray, CT and MRI results.

You can view your own data. Healthcare providers (ELGA-Gesundheitsdiensteanbieter, or ELGA-GDA) who are actually treating or caring for you can also access it.

Who participates in ELGA?

As a general rule, anyone with an Austrian social insurance number (Sozialversicherungsnummer) who is treated or cared for in the Austrian healthcare system is an ELGA participant. You do not need to register separately. However, you can decide whether to participate and to what extent.

Who can see your data, and for how long?

Healthcare providers can access the ELGA data only of patients they are actually treating. Access begins when you are identified at a practice, hospital or pharmacy.

• Hospitals and outpatient clinics: 90 days, ELGA data.
• Doctors in private practices: 90 days, ELGA data.
• Care institutions: 90 days, ELGA data.
• Pharmacies: 28 days, medication list only.
• Emergency services: 28 days, medication list only.
• 1450 health advice service: 28 days, ELGA data.

You can shorten or extend these statutory access periods yourself.

If you do not identify yourself at a pharmacy, the pharmacy can scan the QR code on the prescription so that the medicine is added to ELGA. In this situation, however, the pharmacy cannot view your medication list.

Who can never access ELGA?

The following are technically excluded from accessing your data:

• insurers,
• employers,
• authorities,
• doctors acting as experts, such as occupational physicians.

Every access is recorded by the system (ELGA-Protokollierungssystem). You can therefore check who opened your data and when. Access by you and by staff of the ELGA-Ombudsstelle is also recorded.

How can you view your ELGA data?

You can sign in to the ELGA access portal (ELGA-Zugangsportal, within the Gesundheitsportal) using ID Austria or EU Login. There you can:

• view your ELGA data,
• see who viewed which report or medication list and when,
• change the 90-day and 28-day access periods,
• download, print or delete your data.

If you do not have a computer, ID Austria or EU Login, contact the regional office of the ELGA-Ombudsstelle. It can help you view, download or print your data, and can also assist if you suspect a data-protection violation. The nearest office is listed on the Gesundheitsportal and in the “Kontakte” section of the ombuds office.

How can you opt out?

You have two options:

1. Partial opt-out (partielles Opt-out): you leave only certain applications, such as E-Befund, while remaining in others, such as E-Medikation. You remain an ELGA participant.
2. General opt-out (generelles Opt-out): you do not participate in either the reports or the medication list and are no longer an ELGA participant.

You can submit an objection (Widerspruch) in either of these ways:

• electronically through the ELGA access portal using ID Austria or EU Login;
• in writing to the ELGA-Widerspruchstelle. The signed declaration must be sent in the original together with a copy of an official photo ID to: ELGA-Widerspruchstelle, Postfach 180, 1021 Wien. You can prepare the form online, for example through the ELGA-Formularservice.

Can you rejoin ELGA?

Yes. You can withdraw your objection at any time (Widerruf des Widerspruchs) using the same method. However, data created during the period when you were not participating in ELGA will not be added retrospectively.

Where can you get general information?

The ELGA-Serviceline is available by telephone on 050/124 4411 from Monday to Friday, 7:00 to 17:00. General information is also available by email through the ELGA service.

Practical steps

1. Use ID Austria or EU Login to sign in to the ELGA-Zugangsportal.
2. Review your medical reports, medication list and access log.
3. Adjust the 90-day and 28-day access periods if required.
4. If you do not want to participate, submit a partial or general objection electronically or write to ELGA-Widerspruchstelle, Postfach 180, 1021 Wien.
5. If you later change your mind, withdraw the objection through the same route, remembering that data from the non-participation period cannot be added retrospectively.

Source: oesterreich.gv.at