Berlin – On the occasion of the 127th German Doctors’ Day, which starts on May 16, 2023, the Chairwoman of the Board of the Verband derersatzkassen e. V. (vdek), Ulrike Elsner, to the doctors for networking medical care structures more closely, for offering digital tools across the board, for example in appointment management, and for expanding cooperation between the health professions. An aging population, the increasing shortage of skilled workers and differences in the supply of care between town and country are central challenges for the healthcare system. “These new framework conditions as well as changed health needs and life plans require a rethinking,” explains Elsner. “Outpatient and inpatient care must cooperate much better and exchange information digitally. But there is also a need for more delegation and interlinking of the professions.”
died-Modell zu Regionalen Gesundheitszentren
With the concept of the regional health centers (RGZ), the substitute funds have shown a way of ensuring modern, high-quality care across the board in rural areas. Doctors from a wide variety of disciplines work under one roof with health professionals such as physiotherapists, midwives and nursing staff. A connection to an outpatient surgery center should also be possible. The opening hours should be designed in such a way that many emergencies can also be treated in the RGZ. The use of video consultation hours and telemedicine offers will be focused on, as will the delegation of medical services in order to relieve doctors. Elsner: “In order to establish the RGZ, we are campaigning for the legislator to include it in the upcoming supply laws as an instrument for securing supply in rural areas.”
Emergency care: uniform, reliable structures
Structures that are understandable for patients are also necessary in emergency care. There is no knowledge deficit – models with “one counter” in the hospital, where panel doctors cooperate with the hospital and assign patients to the right level, create transparency and reliability. “The Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV) continue to be responsible for outpatient care,” emphasizes Elsner.
Access to emergency structures should also be supported by telemedicine. With the establishment of so-called integrated control centers, which accept all calls to the numbers 112 or 116 117 (phone number of the KV) and forward them to a suitable emergency service, the government commission submitted a patient-oriented proposal.
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The Association of Substitute Funds e. V. (vdek) represents the interests and service provider of all six health insurance companies, which together insure more than 28 million people in Germany:
– Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), Twitter: @TK_Press
– BARMER, Twitter: @BARMER_Presse
– DAK Health, Twitter: @DAKHealth
– KKH Commercial Health Insurance, Twitter: @KKH_Politik
– hkk – Handelskrankenkasse, Twitter: @hkk_Presse
– HEK – Hanseatische Krankenkasse, Twitter: @HEKonline
The Association of Substitute Funds e. V. (vdek) was founded in Eisenach on May 20, 1912 under the name “Association of registered commercial relief funds (substitute funds)”. Until 2009, the association operated under the name “Association of Employee Health Insurance Funds e. V.” (VdAK).
More than 290 employees work at the vdek headquarters in Berlin. In the individual federal states, 15 state representations with a total of around 380 and more than 30 employees in the care bases ensure the regional presence of the substitute health insurance funds.