Hospital.Help

Berlin German University Medicine sees the recently passed hospital reform as a milestone for the entire hospital landscape. We are extremely happy about this turnaround, emphasized Jens Scholz, 1st Chairman of the Association of University Hospitals in Germany (VUD), at the Day of University Medicine, which took place for the fourth time in Berlin today.

Due to the financial situation, the reform must now be implemented urgently, demand the university hospitals and medical faculties in Germany. The decision to reform the hospital is a very good start, which must now be continued constructively, said Scholz. The opportunity lies in now being able to transform the allocation of performance groups sensibly and really further develop structures.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) once again emphasized the urgent need for this today. The German healthcare system is currently extremely inefficient, he said. Life expectancy in Germany is below the average of other EU countries and the quality of care needs to be improved.

For him, there were therefore three topic areas that needed to be addressed particularly urgently: the reforms of hospital structures, the digitalization of the health system and the use of health data for care, as well as new laws in medical research and strengthening Germany as a study location.

These things are at the core of modernizing the health system, said Lauterbach. So far we have remained far below our potential in Germany. Now we are on the move. He is often accused of not talking to lobbyists enough. And that is also true. However, he always coordinated closely with university medicine. He emphasized that she supported him in his reform processes and was a good ally for him. I could rely on you. “I thank you very much for that,” he said.

However, Scholz does not want to understand that the university hospitals are the winners of the hospital reform. We all need this reform. Hospital planning should actually be apolitical, he said. The focus should be on finding the best solution. The federal states should also look beyond their own borders and look for common solutions. The reform gives countries a set of instruments that makes needs-based and improved hospital planning and its implementation through the transformation fund financially possible, said Scholz. The university hospitals would want to help shape the change with all their strength.

It is necessary to leverage all efficiency reserves, emphasized Lars Peter Feld, professor of economic policy at the University of Freiburg and head of the Walter Eucken Institute. He also praised the hospital reform as a significant step in the right direction in view of demographic change. The social systems came under increasing pressure when the baby boomers retired, explained Feld.

At the same time, economic growth will be slowed, which will lead to lower income for public finances. In order to counteract these developments, further corrections are required. Germany has a high level of health care, but the health of Germans is only average, warned Feld. There is also a comparatively high proportion of people with many risk factors and Germany also takes a leading place when it comes to the use of the outpatient and inpatient care system. © ER/aerzteblatt.de