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Cash patients specialist appointments within four weeks
In the summer, the Bundestag passed a law against long waiting times for a specialist appointment. Health insurances and doctors have responded to the problem of long waiting with various measures in various federal states. In Thuringia, for example, a central service center is to arrange cash register patient appointments within four weeks.
Law against long waiting times
Last year, a test showed that patients in Germany often have to wait five weeks before they get an appointment with the specialist. Private patients usually have to wait less long. As Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe announced months ago, the federal government wants to put an end to the long waiting times for a specialist appointment with a corresponding law. Some states have already responded to the problem. Last year, the Kassenärztliche Vereinigung (KV) and the AOK Nordost announced that patients in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern could, with the help of a special model, receive faster specialist appointments for acute problems. Now Thuringia has been informed that there will be improvements soon.
New service to help cash-desk patients to get a specialist appointment faster. Picture: Picture-Factory - fotolia Service point starts in January
A message from "mdr.de" shows that the Thuringian health insurance physicians want to start the end of January with the telephone placement of specialist appointments. As a speaker of the Kassenärztliche Vereinigung (KV) announced, the service center is scheduled to start work on 25 January 2016. This should give patients an appointment with a specialist within four weeks. Prerequisite is a corresponding transfer from the family doctor. If mediation does not work within the four-week period, patients can go to a hospital.
Health insurance companies offer partially better conditions
The KV implements a legal requirement with the service. The pension strengthening law, which was passed by the Bundestag in the summer of this year, stipulates that patients receive appointments from specialist doctors within a given period of time. The legislator wanted to limit the currently often months-long waiting periods, especially for patients insured by law. The Kassenärztliche associations must set up service points for this purpose. At least for the early days is expected from a large demand. However, it is uncertain how this will develop. According to information from the CT, the patients would not have the right to choose a specific medical practice within the statutory period. In addition, some health insurance companies would offer their insured a term guarantee at specialists with some better conditions than is provided for in the statutory regulation. (Ad)