13.07.2023 – 12:12
German Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI)
Nuremberg (end)
The Professional Association of German Anesthesiologists (BDA) and the German Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI) welcome the goals set by the Federal Ministry of Health and the federal states for the hospital reform. At the same time, the two leading anesthesiological organizations warn that the department of anesthesiology should be actively involved in the future concrete design of the reform – especially in the calculation of the maintenance costs.
In anesthesiology, more than in almost any other field, personnel and equipment must be provided in order to ensure the care of more than ten million patients a year in the fields of anesthesia, intensive care, pain management, emergency medicine and palliative medicine, according to the DGAI and BDA clearly. “We can only emphasize once again that our department will be particularly affected by the reforms,” says BDA President Professor Grietje Beck and demands: “Our guidelines for the equipment and staffing of anesthesia departments must be refinanced.”
With the hospital reform, the federal and state governments want to ensure security of supply by introducing advance financing for hospitals, increase the quality of treatment and reduce bureaucracy in the system. Anesthesiologists are responsible for safety before, during and after procedures and operations, for treating pain, treating emergencies immediately and caring for the seriously ill in the intensive care units, as well as for accompanying and treating terminally ill patients.
Reform drafts mention anesthesiology only in passing
BDA President Beck is very concerned about the previous reform drafts by the government commission, the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia or the Association of Scientific Medical Societies (AWMF), which mention anesthesiology only marginally, if at all. Nevertheless, she emphasizes: “We are renewing our offer to those responsible for politics for constructive cooperation and urgently point out again the dangers for the safety of millions of patients if anesthesiology is not adequately taken into account.”
In the cornerstones of the reform, it was decided, after a transitional phase in which the maintenance costs should be estimated at a flat rate of 60 percent of the previous DRG and care budget volume, to calculate the actual maintenance costs in future.
In this context, Professor Benedikt Pannen, President of the DGAI, refers to the elaborations on the equipment of anesthesia workstations, which were drawn up jointly by the DGAI and BDA and are constantly being adapted. “They offer ideal conditions for calculating actual running costs,” he says. In addition, he also emphasizes: The entries for the description of the planned hospital levels and service groups of the DGAI and the BDA have not yet been taken into account either in NRW or by the AWMF.
also dr Thomas Iber, secretary of the BDA, warns: “Even in the existing system of flat rates per case, we are observing a chronic underfunding of anesthesiological departments.” Under no circumstances should this be perpetuated by the reforms, but must be corrected.
BDA Vice President Dr. Frank Vescia also refers to the planned expansion of inpatient and outpatient cooperation, which is primarily intended for so-called Level II hospitals. “Outpatient treatment and promotion of cooperation between resident doctors and hospitals sounds good at first,” he says, but warns at the same time: “Then the legislature must also ensure that we have the necessary framework conditions and not through social or labor law Restrictions will be hindered if hospitals and doctors in private practice actually want to work together.”
Reduce bureaucracy: Doctors should treat patients, not sit at their desks
Together, the DGAI and the BDA are once again in favor of reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and recalling an application by the German Medical Association to reduce the effort involved in documentation to what is absolutely necessary. “We hope that the legal foundations that are now to be drawn up will consistently pursue the goal of reducing bureaucracy and finally reduce the administrative effort,” says Dr. Markus Stolaczyk, Head of the Health Policy Department at the BDA. “We need every doctor at the patient and not at the desk or in inspections by the medical service.” Clinics that allow themselves to be certified voluntarily – e.g. through the DGAI certificate in intensive care – should not be checked again by the medical service and thus have to make redundant efforts.
Press contact:
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“German Society for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine”
(DGAI) /
“Professional Association of German Anesthesiologists” (BDA)
Neuwieder Street 9
90411 Nuremberg
Phone: 0911 93378-33
E-Mail:
[email protected]
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Internet:
www.dgai.de
www.bda.de
Original content from: German Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI), transmitted by news aktuell