2.8 million suffer from chronic pain

2.8 million Germans suffer from severe pain

03/23/2015

In Germany, around 2.8 million people suffer from severe chronic pain. The majority of them, according to doctors, but not optimally supplied. Many patients have a veritable odyssey through countless medical practices before they receive appropriate therapy.

No optimal care for pain patients
Over 2.8 million Germans suffer from severe chronic pain. However, most of them are not optimally cared for by doctors. The Professional Association of Pain Medicine (BVSD) has made this clear in an interview with the German Press Agency (dpa) in Berlin. Behind the criticism is a dispute in the medical profession, which is about how the optimal care of the affected patients looks. Among other things, it is also about money.

Patients are often desperate
Health experts have been talking about a widespread disease in chronic pain for years. Affected are truly many. For example, after a disc history or inflammation, severe pain signals may recur. In patients, despair often increases. Above all, because it can take years for those affected to receive a diagnosis and adequate treatment. This also has to do with the fact that behind chronic pain often mental problems stuck and a psychosomatic clarification takes place late. For example, chronic back pain is often affected by stress. Many patients have had a veritable odyssey through various medical practices before they could really be helped.

Not only specialists can handle serious cases
The BVSD criticized now that gape in the supply of those affected giant gaps. „Only about one in eight patients can be cared for by one of the 1102 outpatient pain specialists specializing in the treatment of patients with chronic pain“, said the BVSD chairman Joachim Nadstawek the dpa. There are special quality criteria for the care of patients with chronic pain. For example, pain therapists are expected to treat only 300 patients each quarter. Thus, a maximum of 330,600 patients could be treated with chronic pain every three months. In addition, the young are missing. Kassenärztliche Federal Association (KBV) and top association of health insurance companies would do too little against these shortcomings. The KBV spokesman Roland Stahl rejected the allegations and said: „The pain therapy care is one of the basic knowledge of all patient-related areas.“ Not only special pain doctors are therefore suitable to treat even severe cases.

Dispute over the money
Behind the conflict is also a dispute over the money. So the pain doctors urged the KBV already last summer, in the negotiations with the health insurance on the doctor's fee for remuneration for them outside the normal fee budgets. The rejected KBV boss Andreas Gassen of the pain doctors association from, so that other sections of a fee would be withdrawn. Stahl explained: „The cash register side shows, according to experience, quite reluctant, when it comes to additional expenses.“ (Ad)