Berlin. From the point of view of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Doctors (KBV), Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach’s (SPD) concept for a reform of emergency care cannot work. The proposal was “one-sided in its weight, unrealistic in its deadline setting and excessively bureaucratic,” KBV board members Dr. Andreas Gassen, Dr. Stephan Hofmeister and Dr. Sibylle Steiner explained on Monday.
“The Federal Ministry of Health’s suggestions are once again at the expense of our fellow residents. “The draft foresees, among other things, the expansion of the powers of the Statutory Associations of Health Insurance Doctors (KVen) through the internal operation of intensive care units – in parallel with the standard care provided by the practices”, stated the board members .
Mandatory control of the requested patient
The minister’s proposal also includes ideas such as creating a 24-hour national transport service. The question is who should and can manage these services. “Instead of finally controlling the patients of the medical service on duty in a binding way and providing the necessary financial resources,” said the KBV management, “colleagues are burdened with additional tasks.”
In Lauterbach’s concept, KVs would have to conclude hundreds of cooperation agreements with clinics. This is extremely bureaucratic, especially because, given the uncertainties surrounding clinical reform, no one knows which clinics will still be online in the near future. “One of the objectives of the project appears to be to increase the number of patients in clinics and place control unilaterally in the hands of the hospitals themselves – although with greater pressure on outpatient structures”, is the conclusion of the KBV board members.
Continued uncertainty among pool doctors
The Central Institute of Statutory Health Insurance (Zi) explained that many capabilities were lost in the on-call service. There is an artificial shortage of personnel because social security contributions are due for the work of so-called doctors on duty. According to Zi, the legislator must equate this activity with emergency medical service – that is, exempt it from social security contributions.
The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) is responsible for this within the government. When asked, a BMAS spokeswoman said: “We assume that dialogue with the main organizations and associations of the medical profession, in particular individual associations of statutory health insurance doctors and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Doctors, can be continued in a timely manner.” Everything else remains to be seen. (bwa)