Kassen Strong consequences for bad clinics

Health insurance: Harsher consequences for bad clinics

05/25/2014

Patients should be better protected from hospitals with poor patient outcomes or excessive surgeries. Corresponding demands were made by the substitute funds before the negotiations on a major hospital reform.

Replacement funds demand stronger protection of patients
How long does an artificial hip joint last or how high is the risk of a hospital infection? The health insurance funds are making headlines against clinics with poor treatment outcomes and are demanding greater protection of patients from hospitals with high complication rates or excessive surgeries. Corresponding demands were made by Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), Barmer GEK, DAK-Gesundheit and the other Ersatzkassen before the negotiations between the German federal and state governments about a major hospital reform that will start this Monday in Berlin. This shows a position paper of the Association of Ersatzkassen (vdek), which the news agency dpa existed.

No accepted method for determining hospital quality
Currently latches with many unnecessary operations would have little fear consequences, criticized the Ersatzkassenverband in the paper, as dpa reports. „The same applies to the hospitals, which demonstrably provide poor quality in the context of quality assurance procedures over a longer period of time.“ If this were changed in the sense of the association, entire hospital departments could be deleted, which are considered to be less well. The German Medical Association warned against such a scenario. A recognized method to determine the quality of the hospitals at all, do not exist. Opposite the „Berlin newspaper“ said the Federal Medical Association President Frank Ulrich Montgomery: „It is a dangerous way if the parameters are wrong.“ The doctors want to put their ideas on the German medical day from this Tuesday in Dusseldorf against the demands of the coffers.

Quality Institute should be established
However, the federal government has already initiated the project of stronger quality measurements. An own quality institute should be set up in order to determine the treatment successes and failures of the German clinics. Although the plans are already being discussed in the Bundestag, it is still unclear what exactly happens with the results that the institute is to provide. To pay the individual houses more for their quality is a goal. Following the constitution of the respective working group on Monday, the federal and state negotiations will be concluded at the end of the year.

Full price only for good work
In the „image“-Newspaper demanded the vice-boss of the health insurance top federation, Johann Magnus von Stackelberg, to put an end to the fact that hospital services are paid regardless of necessity or quality: „That needs to change.“ In the future only the full price should be paid for good work. In addition, vdek boss Ulrike Elsner demanded: „The quality of care must be considered much more in hospital planning than before.“ Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe (CDU) said opposite „image“: „People need to be able to rely on easily accessible, high-performance hospitals.“ Financing the clinics is another issue. „The investment underfunding of hospitals, to which countries have increasingly withdrawn funds, must finally be remedied“, demanded the Marburger Bund at its Annual General Meeting in Dusseldorf.

Continuing education of doctors at risk
Rudolf Henke, chairman of the association of employed and civil servants, made clear that the lack of money also endangers the further education of physicians. In addition, Elsner criticized the fact that the states withdrew from their responsibility for hospital buildings and equipment. The federal government had to step in, but Gröhe had already reacted skeptically to such demands. The allegations to the countries were rejected by Bavaria's Minister of Health Melanie Huml (CSU): „Bavaria lives up to its obligation.“ Better than before, the cost increases in the prices would have to be considered. According to the cash forecast, cash expenditure for clinics will rise by 2.6 to 66.8 billion euros in 2014. Already last month, Federal Minister of Health Gröhe had in an interview with the „South German newspaper“ It has made clear that a lot has to be done in hospitals to safeguard patient care in the long term while keeping costs under control. He noted, among other things, the structural problems that he believes exist in the hospital sector and raised the question of whether „perhaps a reduction or conversion of extra beds makes more sense“ would. (Ad)