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Berlin – The Federal Cabinet is expected to decide on the reform of emergency care on July 17. This emerges from a cabinet proposal that… German medical journal is present. After the federal government’s decision, the parliamentary procedure can begin.
A first bill for emergency reform (Emergency Law) is became known yesterday. The aim is to ensure “uniform and equivalent emergency care across the country” for all those seeking help. Among other things, statutory health insurance medical associations should be obliged to consistently provide telemedicine and outpatient care. This should also apply, in particular, to the care of children and young people.
The proposed law establishes, among other things, that the service areas of contracted emergency services, hospital emergencies and emergency services must be better interconnected and coordinated. There are deficits in efficiently directing those seeking help to the appropriate level of care, which often leads to poor management – which can result in overload for those involved, especially in emergency rooms and the rescue service.
The previous tasks of the consultation center in the area of acute case referral will therefore be carried out in the future by the so-called acute control centers of the statutory health insurance associations (KVen). These must be networked with the rescue control centers in a “health control system”, through which the digital transfer of cases with transmission without means of communication of already collected data must be possible.
However, there are already clear criticisms of the bill. The project goes against efforts to make the health system more efficient by creating unnecessary dual structures in clinics and agencies and ignores the fact that the current shortage of doctors leaves less and less room for maneuver, warned the president of the Hartmann Association, Klaus Reinhardt. As capabilities become scarcer, they must be coordinated sensibly.
Other topics and laws on the agenda
On June 19, the Federal Cabinet will also consider a law that aims to tighten the rules for advertising food to children. The project by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) provides greater protection for children against advertising of foods with high sugar, fat or salt content.
Additionally, a federal government report on future-proofing the financing of social long-term care insurance will be presented to the federal cabinet on June 26. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) recently called for urgent reform of nursing care financing, but at the same time stressed that this project could no longer be achieved in this legislature until 2025.
Another project by the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) is on the agenda for July 3rd. The law to create a digital health agency will be approved on this day. The aim is to greatly strengthen legal requirements for providers of practice management systems (PVS).
Among other things, a soft change to the PVS should become binding and medical practices should have a legal right to compensation if they incur costs as a result. In the future, an updated Gematik should also be able to certify the ease of use of the PVS and impose fines on service providers in the telematics infrastructure (IT).
Furthermore, the Council of Ministers meeting on July 17 is also scheduled to approve the draft of a third law that amends the Transplant Law with changes to the regulations on the donation of living organs. © cmk/aha/aerzteblatt.de