According to plans by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, general practitioners should be given more financial freedom in order to avoid waiting times and bottlenecks. “We also want to de-economize general practitioners’ practices,” said the SPD politician on Tuesday after a conversation with representatives of established doctors and statutory health insurance companies in Berlin. The focus should no longer be on how often a patient has to be called in so that practices can pay the full fee. This means there will be fewer patients in the waiting room, meaning practices can concentrate on those who need medical care.
Less bureaucracy, more money – Lauterbach wants to relieve the burden on family doctors
Specifically, for general practitioners – as for pediatricians – budgets with upper limits on remuneration by the health insurance companies should be lifted. This should mean that all services provided in the practices are paid for. In addition, the bureaucratic effort should be reduced.
Patients have to come to the practice less
Simplifications should also be made for adult insured persons with chronic illnesses who continually require medication. In the future, family doctors should only charge a flat rate once a year for the first contact – regardless of subsequent appointments. This should significantly reduce the number of avoidable visits to the practice and allow more treatment time.
If practices meet certain criteria such as home visits or a minimum number of insured people undergoing treatment, they should be able to receive a legally regulated “retention fee”. This is intended to provide support to practices that make a particular contribution to care. General practitioner practices should also be able to bill the health insurance company once a year for qualified heat advice for risk groups.