node-egk

A Node.js package for reading the unencrypted data from public health insurance cards from germany (eGK) and austria (e-Card)

Installation

Install Node.js
Install PCSC Lite. On Debian/Ubuntu systems this can be done using apt install libpcsclite1 libpcsclite-dev pcscd.
npm install egk

Supported card readers

This library was written and tested using the Identiv uTrust 2770 R but should work with any reader that provides a PC/SC driver.

Usage

See example/index.js for a full example on how to use this module. Basically, you just have to subscribe to a "card was inserted"-event and call getInsurantData when it occurs:

const eGKReader = require('egk');
const egk = new eGKReader();

egk.on('card-connect', async (reader, atr) => {    
    try {
        // Note that this library uses promises/async&await for asynchronous operations and does not 
        // provide a callback. 
        const data = await egk.getInsurantData(atr, "DE");
        // do stuff
    } catch (err) {
        console.log("Error: ", err);
    }
});

This results in a JSON object representing the insurants data:

{
   "cardType":"egk",
   "insurantId":"P123456789",
   "dob":"19881005",
   "firstName":"Max",
   "lastName":"Musterman",
   "sex":"M",
   "street":"Musterstr.",
   "houseNumber":"1",
   "zipCode":"12345",
   "city":"Musterstadt",
   "country": "DE"
}

API

Events

Event	Description
reader-connect	Emitted when a smartcard reader is present. Returns the name of the reader.
reader-disconnect	Emitted when the smartcard reader is removed. Returns the name of the reader.
card-connect	Emitted when a card is inserted into the reader. Returns the name of the reader and the atr from the card.
card-disconnect	Emitted when the card is removed from the reader. Returns the name of the reader.
error	Emitted when the underlying smartcard library reported an error, for example if an unsupported card was inserted into the reader. Returns an `Error` object.

Functions

Function	Description	Returns
getInsurantData(atr, fallbackType)	Reads the unencrypted insurance data file from a german or austrian health insurance card, depending on the cards ATR response. You can pass a fallback card-type ("AT" or "DE") that is used if the ATR detection fails.	A promise resolving with a JSON object or rejecting with an `Error`.
getInsurantDataDE()	Same as above, but expects a german health insurance card. The ATR value is ignored.	A promise resolving with a JSON object or rejecting with an `Error`.
getInsurantDataAT()	Same as above, but expects an austrian health insurance card. The ATR value is ignored.	A promise resolving with a JSON object or rejecting with an `Error`.
dispose()	Removes all resources and event handlers used by the pcsc library.	-