ELGA GmbH is the legal body of Austria responsible for the Austrian health record system. It was founded in 2009 by the Austria Federal Government, the Federal States and the Austrian Social Insurance. The objective of the non-profit company is the provision of e-health services for the implementation of the national health record system (ELGA). This includes coordinating and integrating all operational measures for the introduction of ELGA, steering pilot projects according to the specifications of the Federal Health Commission and managing the quality and acceptance of ELGA.
The Health Record System is built as an information system providing reference to the health data of all ELGA participants (97% of the population). Respective Health Data can be accessed by the individual participant and by the authorised health service providers (general practitioners, hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies etc.). Within ELGA also prescribed and obtained medicine is recorded in order to detect and prevent contraindications (interactions between several drugs taken) as well as double prescriptions. ELGA thus mainly aims at the patients’ safety and the improvement in treatment quality.
The IT Architecture of ELGA has been built upon the core requirements of highest data security and interoperability within the established domestic and European electronic healthcare communities. Thereby ELGA has a long-standing experience with the definition of document structures (CDA- Documents), implementation of eHealth standards, integration testing, nationwide rollout and strategic coordination of eHealth projects.
