Klaus Reinhardt will continue to speak as Medical President for the 550,000 medical professionals in Germany. But his re-election was close. Now he wants to push the health minister harder.
Doctor President Klaus Reinhardt wants to put massive pressure on health policy after his narrow re-election in the next four years.
“We need a real paradigm shift,” he said at the German Doctors’ Conference in Essen. Health problems are just as important to society as global warming. “That’s why I’m fighting for the health issue to be discussed in the same forward-looking way as the climate issue,” he said.
Close choice
The 250 delegates confirmed Reinhardt for another four years in his office at the head of the German Medical Association. It represents the interests of 550,000 doctors. The 62-year-old received 125 votes – three more than the chairwoman of the Marburger Bund medical association, Susanne Johna. The 57-year-old was then elected Vice-President of the German Medical Association.
Reinhardt criticized that many politicians still fail to appreciate the scope of the problems in the healthcare system. Above all, the shortage of skilled workers threatens the security of supply. “The solutions that are sometimes being discussed in politics are adventurous to the point of absurd.”
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) must ensure, for example, in the planned hospital reform, “that doctors in clinics can treat their patients without economic requirements and cost pressure with sufficient time and the opportunity for empathetic attention,” he demanded.
Reinhardt took over the office of medical president four years ago from Frank Ulrich Montgomery. He works as a family doctor in Bielefeld, where he continues the practice founded by his parents. The 62-year-old is also chairman of the Hartmannbund medical association.
Reinhardt defends himself against criticism
Critics had accused him of having done too little on important structural health policy issues under his leadership. In his application speech, Reinhardt replied that the corona pandemic had overshadowed everything in recent years. “Believe me, this is not how I imagined my presidency four years ago.”
His opponent, Susanne Johna, would have been the first woman to head the German Medical Association. In her application speech, the 57-year-old demanded that physicians should get more involved in health policy with specific and coordinated proposals. “Then politicians will no longer be able to ignore our proposals.”
Among other things, she called for a massive reduction in bureaucracy. Doctors currently spend three hours a day “documenting madness”. “We didn’t become doctors for that. We want to take care of patients,” she said.
The four-day Doctors’ Day comes to an end this Friday.
Source: Stern
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