General practitioners criticize the draft bill for new regulations on medical training
10.05.2023 16:40
Regarding the revised draft bill (interim status) from the Federal Ministry of Health on the new regulation of medical training, Dr. Markus Beier, Federal Chairman of the German Association of General Practitioners:
“The Master Plan for Medical Studies 2020 is one of the central building blocks for ensuring primary care care in the medium and long term. The fact that this urgently needed reform has been delayed by the federal states for years is scandalous. The states simply want to save money at the expense of the future of primary care.
The fact that the Federal Ministry of Health is making a new attempt to reform medical studies, despite the states' blockade, is positive news. At the same time, it must be ensured that the reform actually achieves its central goal, namely strengthening general practice, at the end of the day.
The revised draft bill contains regressions in several areas compared to the original version. In our view, for example, it would have been urgently necessary for all students to take an examination in general medicine in the last state examination. The fact that the lengthy process means that the reform can only take effect from 2027 - a full ten years after it was decided - is also disappointing. It will take several more years before the reform leads to a real improvement in care.
Nevertheless, the draft now presented would still be a significant improvement on the current status quo and an important contribution to strengthening general practice in medical studies. Even if the revised draft falls short of original expectations, we are calling for the reform to finally be implemented now and not to waste any more time! The countries have already wasted more than enough of it.
But it must be crystal clear: further watering down of the reform is an absolute no-go. If the elements of the reform that strengthen general practice were to be weakened again in the further process, then that would be unacceptable. The countries must also be clear: If medical studies are not reformed, the social and economic costs will be enormously high in the long term.”