A position paper by three hospital operators, Helios Kliniken, Bezirkskliniken Mittelfranken and Diakoneo, the largest diaconal provider in Germany, in collaboration with the AOK Bundesverband, shows that for more efficient healthcare in Germany, the sector boundaries must be overcome and the regional design of the healthcare landscape must have priority.
The aim of the „Enabling Change“ alliance is therefore to improve the quality of care and regulate costs, but not at the expense of patients. To achieve this, however, outpatient, inpatient and digital demand planning should be better interlinked. Customized solutions would be, for example, outpatient health centers, in order to expand regional room for maneuver, but also to establish systematic, nationwide health care that is common according to international standards.
All those involved in the cooperation also agree that the quality of treatment outcomes must have top priority. Therefore, a fundamental structural renewal of the healthcare landscape should be considered. This includes, among other things, the closure of hospital sites that are underutilized and do not meet the minimum volume regulation.
All four partners in the alliance therefore also call for measurement and publication of the quality of the respective results of treatments and, in this context, even advocate the establishment of so-called 3+1 committees, which should consist of representatives of the associations of panel doctors, state hospital associations and the health insurance funds. Impartial representatives of the respective federal states should be able to co-determine regional care and reimbursement options.
Source: www.kma-online.de