German latches record-breaking in operating

Health Minister sees wrong incentives for operations

12/04/2013

In Germany too much and too fast surgery. This is what the health insurance funds accuse German clinics. After the German Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV) came to this conclusion last summer as part of a study, Health Minister Daniel Bahr (FDP) is now raising the alarm. The increasing number of in-patient hospital stays and surgical interventions is not solely due to demographic change and medical progress. The question must be asked, „whether there is also a lack of incentives, "Bahr said at the opening of a conference of his ministry with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)..

High costs and additional burden for hospital staff due to increasing operations
Minister of Health Bahr had invited to Berlin to investigate the cause of the rapidly increasing number of operations in German hospitals. The allegation of the funds is clear: In Germany at the expense of patients and contributors too fast and too much surgery. The OECD presented a report on this subject with an international comparison.

Bahr pointed out that the increasing numbers of operations not only cause high costs but also significantly increase the burden on doctors and nursing staff. The Minister of Health therefore wants to create incentives for hospitals in the future, which are characterized by a good treatment and not „just operate more ".

In Germany, more is operated than in almost every other country
In international comparison, Germany occupies a leading position in the analysis of the figures for operations and inpatient hospital stays. According to the OECD, 240 hospitalizations per 1,000 inhabitants were last registered. That's more than fasting in any other country. Only Japan and Korea provide more than 8.3 hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants for their population. According to the OECD, the number of cancer treatments in Germany is almost twice as high as the international average, although there are no more cancer cases in this country than in other countries.

Already last summer, the GKV-Spitzenverband together with the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI) presented a study, according to which the number of treatments between 2006 and 2010 increased by 13 percent. Only 40 percent of this could be attributed to the increasing aging of the population, said study author Boris Augurzky, health experts at RWI. GKV and RWI see the main reason for the steadily rising treatment numbers in the increasingly expensive operations. The hospitals would therefore increase the number of lucrative treatments. Particularly dramatic is the increase in orthopedic and cardiological procedures.

The Vice Chairman of the GKV-Spitzenverbandes, Johann-Magnus von Stackelberg, criticized a patient treatment, which is mainly controlled by the price. He pointed out that there were signs that surgery was not always done for purely medical reasons but also for economic reasons.

A false financial incentive for operations, according to the Central Association, also by the usual bonuses in many Chefarzt contracts, which are paid for certain interventions. Even the German Society for Surgery advocates that such agreements from the chief physician contracts to push back.

Unnecessary operations „on the verge of assault“
Günter Wältermann, boss of the boss of the AOK Rheinland / Hamburg, finds opposite the „world“ clear words: „In Germany, people are operated on too quickly or unnecessarily. That may be on the verge of assault.“ He also points out in this context on the bonus payments to chief physicians for mehroperationen. „When the patients know about the differences in quality, they vote with their feet. "There are generally too many hospital beds, „The hospital sector has to be downsized. "The CEO of the AOK Rheinland / Hamburg advises patients to seek a second opinion before they put themselves under the knife.And patients could be advised by the health insurance company in the choice of hospital. (sb)

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Unnecessary operations by professionals of the clinics

Image: Dieter Schütz