BARMER picks T-Systems and Verimi to enable digital identities

BARMER has commissioned T-Systems and Verimi to provide and manage digital identities for its 8.7 million policyholders. The contract has a term of seven years. The companies did not disclose the contract volume.

Digital identities are provided via ID services. T-Systems relies on the Verimi ID Wallet for this purpose. The Federal Office for Information Security has already approved the ID Wallet as a secure procedure. T-Systems operates the service in its Open Telekom Cloud. Three data centers provide protection and zero-outage for the ID service. It is being developed in accordance with gematik specifications.

Law obligates insurers from 2023

The smartphone will become an electronic health insurance card. Policy holders will receive a digital twin of their chip cards on their smartphones: so-called digital identities will enable access to data and applications. Like the card, they will also serve as proof of insurance. Health insurers will have to offer this service by 2023. The basis for this is the Digital Care and Nursing Modernization Act (DVPMG). It came into force last year.

Roland Bruns, Head of IT at BARMER, says: "The introduction of digital identities gives our policyholders easy access to our online services at the highest level of security. We are pleased to have T-Systems and Verimi, two experienced partners, at our side to provide this user-friendly solution as quickly as possible."

Clearing our daily jungle of usernames and passwords

T-Systems CEO and member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom AG Adel Al-Saleh stated: "Secure digital identities are a quantum leap for everything we do on the Internet. If you provide proof of identity on the Internet, you create trust. Almost all areas of life will benefit from this. At the same time, we will clear up our daily jungle of usernames and passwords."

"With the Verimi ID Wallet, we have pioneered in the German market a way for our users to use their personal identity data – digitally, conveniently and securely," says Roland Adrian, CEO of Verimi. "We can now use our know-how advantage and our proven infrastructure together with T-Systems to offer BARMER policy holders a digital identity solution, quickly and efficiently. We are proud to be making an important contribution here to the rapid digitalization of healthcare in Germany."

Telekom and Verimi will integrate the wallet into the BARMER App. The stored electronic ID card and biometric processes such as Face ID ensure unique identification. Users can in this way use the electronic patient file in a highly secure manner, for example, or electronic prescriptions. Telekom and Verimi want to offer their solution to other insurers. In principle, the technology is suitable for almost all areas of online social life.

Signal for the federal government and the European Union

Digital identities give citizens more sovereignty on the Internet. The federal government and the European Union are driving this development forward. The companies therefore hope that this deal with BARMER will also send a signal to the public sector.

The federal government and the private sector want to work together to help digital identities achieve a breakthrough. For Telekom, this is a strategic issue. The company has been a Verimi shareholder since 2017. 21 German companies have a stake in Verimi. These include numerous DAX companies.