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Improved hospice and palliative care
The care of dying patients in Germany should be significantly improved in the future, both at the outpatient and inpatient level. For this purpose, the Bundestag adopted on Thursday a corresponding law, which also provides for greater support of volunteers and family members.
With the approval of the Union, the SPD and the Greens, the law was passed to improve hospice and palliative care in Germany, according to the statement of the Federal Ministry of Health. The law aims to promote the nationwide expansion of hospice and palliative care in Germany. Numerous new regulations were created for this purpose. For example, according to the Federal Ministry of Health's announcement, palliative care is expressly part of the standard care in statutory health insurance (SHI).
The hospice and palliative care in Germany should be significantly improved with the current law. (Photographee.eu/fotolia.com) Help for the terminally ill a commandment of humanity
The Federal Minister of Health Hermann Gröhe stressed that help for seriously ill, dying people is "a commandment of humanity" and that includes "any medical, nursing, psychological and pastoral help that accompanies a person in the last phase of life." With the current law Here are now significant improvements can be achieved. In the whole of Germany, this aid would have to be expanded nationwide, said Gröhe. The law strengthens "the hospice and palliative care everywhere, where humans spend their last Lebensphase - whether at home, in the hospital, in the nursing home or in the hospice." Also the information and counseling offer is extended, in order to better communicate the offer of help , "Everyone should have the certainty of being well cared for and cared for at the end of life," emphasizes the Federal Minister of Health.
Strengthening home palliative care
The significant new provisions of the adopted law include, in addition to being included in the general statutory health insurance scheme, also strengthening palliative care in the context of home care. The Federal Joint Committee now has the mandate to make the services of palliative care more concrete and thus billable for the nursing services. Also, the financial resources of inpatient children's and adult hospices will be improved. For this an increase of the minimum subsidy of the health insurance companies takes place. In addition, the health insurances will in future bear 95 percent of the eligible costs and it was agreed that independent framework agreements can be concluded for inpatient children's hospices.
Hospice services receive more financial flexibility
In addition, according to the current legislation, in addition to personnel costs, in future the subsidies for outpatient hospice services will also take into account material costs and, in addition, the special expenses for the initial interview will have to be taken into account. As a result of the increasing subsidy from the SHI, the hospice services are given more financial leeway overall, also to support the bereavement care of the relatives, according to the statement of the Federal Ministry of Health. In addition, outpatient hospice work in nursing homes should be given greater consideration, and hospitals can in future commission hospice services with care for the elderly.
Preparation of a care plan for the last phase of life
The adopted law also creates the legal basis for nursing homes to organize and provide their residents with care planning for individual and comprehensive medical, nursing, psychosocial and pastoral care in the last phase of their lives, reports the ministry. This special counseling offer will also be financed by the health insurance companies. Also, insured persons would now be entitled to individual advice and assistance from the statutory health insurance funds in the selection and use of palliative and hospice care services. In this context, the health insurance funds should also provide general information about the possibilities of personal provision for the last phase of life, in particular to living will, power of attorney and care directive, according to the statement of the Federal Ministry of Health.
Terminal care Part of the long-term care insurance contract
The Federal Minister of Health also sees a major step forward in the fact that the care of the elderly is an explicit component of the care contract of the social long-term care insurance. Nursing homes will in future be obliged to work together with outpatient hospice services and must make the cooperation with connected hospice and palliative care transparent. "In order to increase the transparency of the development of hospice and palliative care, the GKV-Spitzenverband", according to the ministry's announcement, "receives the mandate to report regularly on the different care instruments." (Fp)