Shortage of doctors require temporary admission

Lack of doctors: cashes want temporary approval

30.12.2014

For years, experts have warned that the lack of doctors, especially in rural areas, could lead to a shortage of patients. According to a media report, the central association of health insurances now calls for temporary cash approvals to better control the distribution of medical professionals.

Approval for doctors limited

In view of the shortage of physicians in many rural regions, the statutory health insurance funds are demanding that they only grant a limited period of time to physicians for a limited period of time. As the chief executive officer of the central association of the health insurance companies, Doris Pfeiffer, the „Berlin newspaper“ (Tuesday) said, it is not at all justifiable, why a doctor get the license for life and therefore could sell or inherit. According to a message from the dpa news agency, the expert: „In the future, the right to settle accounts with a statutory health insurance fund should only be granted on a temporary basis.“

„Reduce excess supply in the cities“

The distribution of doctors can only be properly controlled. „We will only be able to handle the shortage of doctors in the countryside if we reduce the excess supply in the cities“, so Pfeiffer. The federal government has already responded to the problem. In the last Cabinet meeting before the Christmas break, Minister of Health Hermann Gröhe (CDU) had launched the so-called GKV-Versorgungsstärkungsgesetz on. Among other things, this provides for financial incentives, for example with regard to licensing costs or remuneration, in order to bring more doctors to the country. In a region that is oversupplied, a practice should only be filled in the future if this makes sense for the care of the patients.

Innovative methods against lack of physicians in the north

In the far north of Germany, one has come up with other methods to attract more medical professionals. To prevent a shortage of physicians in East Frisia, the region wants to recruit young medical students with scholarships. In October, the news agency dpa had reported that those who commit themselves as a country doctor to a three-year job in East Frisia, previously lucky enough to get a scholarship for medical studies. For this reason, the district of Leer is sponsoring up to five students for the fifth time. (Ad)