Germans doubt hospital quality

Health insurance survey: Germans doubt the quality of hospital treatments

08/06/2013

Out of ten German citizens, only six are convinced that they receive the best possible treatment when they are hospitalized. This has resulted in a representative survey of Schwenninger health insurance among 1,000 citizens.

Get medical advice from health insurance
Dramatic in these figures is also that patients do not feel taken seriously when they speak critically about hospital treatment to doctors. Thus, according to a Forsa survey, about one in five in Germany criticized the treatment in the clinic. When collecting the Schwenninger health insurance almost three quarters of the respondents were not even sure that they could still trust the medical recommendations of the clinics. In addition, every second had ever doubted the medical usefulness of a treatment in the hospital. Therefore, a better support of their health insurance is desired, so three out of four respondents. The board of Schwenninger health insurance, Thorsten Bröske, said: „We coffers see it as our duty to support the insured more strongly.“ He further advises: „So we wish that the insured already contact us before the admission to a clinic for advice on the planned medical treatment.“ The lawmaker asks him to revise the criteria according to which the clinics get their money. „The existing incentives for oversupply are at the expense of the patients and are therefore urgently to be abolished“, explained the cashier.

Quality instead of economic interests
Of the respondents, 61 percent were convinced that the large number of operations was related to economic interests. Accordingly, 90 percent of the German citizens demand that the quality of the funding of hospitals should be given greater prominence. The Central Association of Statutory Health Insurance (GKV) also sees a need for action and urges comprehensive structural reforms in the hospital sector. Florian Lanz, spokesman for the GKV-Spitzenverband, says: „The clinics in Germany do not need again a cash injection, but fundamental changes.“ According to projections of the GKV-Spitzenverband, the statutory health insurance funds will transfer more than 64 billion euros to the German hospitals for the first time this year.

Reforms with real added value
According to Lanz, fundamental structural reforms would be the right therapy with real added value for the patients. So the aim should be that on the one hand the emergency care is secured nationwide, and on the other hand special operations no longer in each „Forest and meadow clinic“ be performed. The association spokesman added: „It is not right for nurses to have to pay for the hospital sector to refuse structural changes.“ Instead of the recurrent call of the hospital representatives for more money, it would rather need the will to fundamental structural reforms. Such reforms are also part of the current Bundestag election campaign and so is the talk of „Develop quality indicators“ (SPD), „Provide funds for a nationwide infrastructure“ (The left) or „The quality of treatment and patient benefits should increasingly be included in the compensation“ (Alliance 90 / The Greens). In September, voters will have the opportunity to influence a possible change in the hospital system. (Sb)