A survey conducted by the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) in January 2021, carried out by the Forsa opinion research institute with 2001 people aged 18 and over, shows that many Germans are completely or very satisfied with the healthcare system. The representative survey, which has been conducted at irregular intervals since 2003, shows that 46 percent of the German population feels this way, although, despite all the satisfaction, calls for renewal and change are also growing louder.
In the TK Opinion Pulse, the survey presentation also makes the need for reform obvious. For example, 80 percent of Germans believe that reforms will help improve the healthcare system. Particularly in the area of payment for nursing staff, 72 percent see a need for action. But 52 percent also consider an improvement in rural medical care to be important; likewise, a boost in benefits for those in need of care (46 percent).
For example, 64 percent of those surveyed would also like to see protective vaccinations, such as the Corona vaccination in pharmacies, implemented by politicians. As yet, only model trials exist concerning flu vaccinations. Many would also like to see video consultations, a specialization of clinics – also in the case of longer travel times – and a relief of the emergency rooms in hospitals.
Improved digitization is also desired by many respondents. Digital health applications (DiGA) as an app on prescription are known to only 16 percent of respondents, but 80 percent trust the judgment of their doctors, who may view these apps positively as an application against chronic diseases.
In principle, there is also openness in Germany to the sharing of health data if the anonymized provision and sharing helps to improve healthcare: 77 percent would release their personal data for medical research purposes, 64 percent would leave it to their health insurance company, and only 23 percent would agree to it being shared with private companies, the survey results continue. However, 15 percent also oppose it altogether.
As head of TK, Jens Baas has a clear opinion on the latter because he, too, completely rejects a legal regulation on the provision of data. At the same time, he can imagine data donation to improve performance for anyone who wants it. Baas is also critical of the explosion in health insurance premiums, which have risen extremely not because of the Corona pandemic, but because expensive health policy laws cost the health insurance funds 14 billion euros a year.
However, the positive figures in the opinion poll are a sign that healthcare policy is working well in the crisis. If today said, 46 percent of Germans are complete to very satisfied, in 2017 it was only 29 percent and in 2009 even only 11 percent. Therefore, in times of crisis, the TK boss believes in politics to apply the right measures and the appeal to contain the explosion of costs through targeted savings measures elsewhere.
Source: www.pharmazeutische-zeitung.de