Which hospital offers which service? Answering this question should become easier in the future and thus ensure more transparency.
A state online atlas will soon provide information about the services and quality of treatment in hospitals throughout Germany. The Federal Council passed a traffic light coalition law passed by the Bundestag.
The new “transparency directory” is intended to be an interactive portal that provides understandable information about the respective offerings at 1,700 clinic locations nationwide. Specifically, from May 1st it will probably be possible to see which hospital offers which services.
The Federal Council now allowed the law to pass on the second attempt after initially slowing it down in November and sending it to the mediation committee with Parliament. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had promised various measures to provide financial support for the clinics in the committee.
Lauterbach made it clear to the Federal Council that he believes transparency is urgently needed. Around a third of cancer patients are currently not being treated where optimal results could be expected.
The details
Data on case numbers, i.e. treatment experience, staffing ratios for specialists and nurses as well as complication rates for selected procedures should be available on the portal. The information should be clear, generally understandable and updated, as the ministry explained. The clinics should have to report additional data for the directory.
The law also provides for several regulations to strengthen the clinics’ liquidity. Among other things, wage increases should be refinanced by the health insurance companies at an early stage. The law is intended to complement a fundamental reform to reorganize the clinics with changes to financing, which the federal and state governments are currently working on.
Lauterbach held out the prospect of a “transformation fund” for which 50 billion euros are planned for ten years from 2025 – half financed by the health fund as a money collection and distribution point for the statutory health insurance companies (GKV) and half by the states.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
