A month ago, the Federal Ministry of Health launched an online portal called “Atlas of Federal Clinics”, where patients can search for suitable hospitals. At times, there has been harsh criticism of the system from many clinics and associations.
In many places there is incorrect data about how often certain procedures are performed or misleading information about the number of nursing staff – these are just two of the many criticisms that hospitals expressed when the clinical atlas was activated. The ministry now explains that the research portal is in constant development.
What critics complain about Atlas do Hospital Federal
According to the managing director of the Bavarian Hospital Society, Roland Engehausen, this is not enough. For example, it should be immediately clear that the portal is not suitable for people with psychiatric and psychosomatic problems because many relevant facilities are not even listed. The fact that treatment options can still be sought is “a scandal”, criticizes Engehausen. In Bavaria in particular, there are many clinics specializing in this area that have not been included in the Federal Clinic Atlas.
Parents should also under no circumstances look for clinics for their children, because the online portal has major shortcomings here, complains Matthias Keller, head of the children’s department at the “Third Order Clinic” in Passau, for example. The Federal Clinical Atlas provides extremely misleading results because it is only intended for adult medicine. The pediatrics professor therefore believes: “We can only advise parents not to use the Federal Hospital Atlas to seek the best care”.
Hospital society demands greater development
However, the head of the association, Engehausen, does not believe that the federal search portal will be deactivated again, as many clinics demand. He would like the ministry to relent and offer help with the development of the Federal Hospital Atlas: “I believe that it would be urgently necessary for the Federal Hospital Atlas to be developed in conjunction with hospitals and also patient organizations.”
And the hospital company highlights that for many years it has had its own search portal, the “German Hospital Directory”, which patients can use to find out about the offers of different clinics.