München – The wait is over – and it was worth it, at least at first glance. Karl Lauterbach and the Federal Ministry of Health have published the draft bills for the Health Data Utilization Act GDNG, the Digital Act DigiG and the Health Care Strengthening Act GVSG. A comprehensive legislative package is intended to further develop the healthcare system. dr Gertrud Demmler comments on individual points from this package:
The GDNG: The use of health data is a real game changer
“For me, a real turning point is the use of health data for advising our insured persons. Advising insured persons is a core task of health insurance companies. So far, we have only been able to tap this potential to a limited extent. The use of health data was only permitted in individual cases. Health insurance companies are ideal for this type of advice equipped: All data on insurance and supply flow together here. Insured persons are now proactively requesting this advice from their health insurance company; they want a health insurance company that thinks for themselves. This was previously put a stop to. The proposed regulations allow us to put together tailor-made offers that generate real added value for the insured This is not only a milestone on an individual level, but also a lever for a more sustainable healthcare system: Because if we can address health problems in a more targeted manner and, on the other hand, ensure that these problems do not even arise become large, then our system will become more efficient and easier to finance.”
“If we are allowed to use the data of our insured persons as part of the health data for individual advice in the future, that is a big plus for care and prevention. However, in the next step it is essential that this data is then also available faster, ideally up-to-date on a daily basis . Otherwise we would be advising on old information and little would be gained from that.”
“I very much welcome the restructuring of data protection supervision. In the statutory health insurance system, the health insurance funds are subject to different data protection supervision, which have tended to hinder good data protection in the context of digitization. In short: non-use of data is not data protection. Hopefully that will soon come to an end with the new regulations .”
“Different supervisions for federal and state funds are not only a problem with data protection. In legal supervision, too, we repeatedly struggle with different supervisory actions, which means that insured persons from different funds are treated unequally. That the BMG is now planning to increase data protection supervision standardize, gives me hope that the topic will also be addressed by other supervisory bodies.”
The DigiG: Digitization takes a step towards everyday care
“The ePR for everyone, the integration of ePrescription and eMedication plan and the mandatory filling of this plan by the doctors – all these are steps that I hope that digitization will finally reach people. The medication plan brings very concrete added value for Insured persons and doctors, creates transparency about prescribed medicines and thus makes a significant contribution to patient safety.”
“At first glance, the DigiG seems to enable more user-friendly authentication if the insured person so wishes – provided he or she has been informed accordingly about the consequences. This will simplify the use of digital offers and is therefore absolutely to be welcomed.”
“I think it’s positive that we are dealing with the DiGA remuneration. It is correct that we should align the pricing of DiGA more closely with success criteria. Ideally, at the end of the legislative process, we will implement it in such a way that the financing is linked to the actual use . If we implement this, we will contribute to the sustainable financing of our healthcare system.”
The GVSG: Insured feedback is essential for real quality competition
“The SBK is publishing its eighth transparency report this year, making it a pioneer when it comes to quality transparency. We have also been campaigning for more quality transparency in statutory health insurance for eight years. I therefore very much welcome the fact that the mandatory publication of service and performance indicators by health insurance companies is now to be anchored in law in the GVSG. Health insurance companies must provide information on, among other things, approvals, rejections and processing times in defined service areas. This is a real milestone for insured persons: the performance and service readiness of a health insurance company becomes transparent. Insured persons can now quickly and easily get an impression of the actual actions of a health insurance company. This advance is also a big plus for the quality competition between the health insurance funds.”
“What is still missing from the SBK’s point of view in the draft bill for more quality transparency of health insurance funds is the integration of real experiences of insured persons. Key figures are one thing. A regular survey of insured persons across the statutory health insurance funds would supplement the numbers with impressions from the reality of care and provide concrete information as to where Insured people have a hard time where the GKV needs to improve. At the SBK, we regularly survey our policyholders in order to develop ourselves further. In addition, many company health insurance companies use the data from policyholder surveys for a BKK-wide benchmark. This is how we gain insights that we use from the key figures not always able to read it out. For real quality competition, policyholder feedback is essential.”
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