IQWiG Is Peter Sawicki too critical?

Will Peter Sawicki be replaced by IQWiG on Wednesday for his critical stance?? This Wednesday, the board of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) meets to decide on another five-year term of office of the since 2004 acting director of the institute Peter Sawicki.

The independent and influential institute was set up by the Red-Green Federal Government to assess the pros and cons of medical services. If the IQWiG makes negative decisions, the costs for the relevant service will no longer be borne by the statutory health insurance funds. Of course, these are serious economic decisions for the companies concerned, which can lead to severe losses.

Peter Sawicki is, according to media reports, as a vehement but fair advocate of an evaluation according to scientific criteria and evidence-based medicine.

According to a report by Spiegel Online, there is a paper named „Key demands for a black and yellow health policy“, in which leading health politicians of the CDU Group for the reorientation of the institute and the replacement of Sawicki by one „more industry-friendly candidates“ make strong.

Shortly before the meeting of the board and the decision so important for the institute, new alleged failures of Sawicki appear. In the „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“ (FAZ) is stated in a test report, according to the Spiegel Online between Peter Sawicki and the board members confidentiality has been agreed that there should have been errors in settlements in the Institute.

The IQWiG Board consists of 2 representatives of the GKV-Spitzenverband, the General Manager of the German Hospital Association (DKG), the Chairman of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) and the State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG), the Lower Saxony FDP politician Stefan Kapferer. According to Spiegel Online, DKG CEO and FDP member Georg Baum had already announced in advance, „To prevent Sawicki's contract extension“.

But there were also voices for Sawicki: Ca. 600 doctors wrote a petition to Federal Health Minister Philipp Rösler and the IQWiG Board of Trustees, in which they expressed their support for the whereabouts of Sawicki. It is to be hoped that the board will make a decision to ensure further serious and independent work by IQWiG. (Thorsten Fischer, Naturopath Osteopathy, 19.01.2010)

Read on

Billions in costs for health insurance? (Heilpraxisnet.de)

Internet presence of the IGWiG

The articles of Spiegel Online here and here