Survey on hospital care in North Rhine-Westphalia: People accept longer distances for high quality treatment
17.10.2023 14:40
For most people in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the event of an operation, the specialization of a hospital with high quality treatment is more important than a short distance to the nearest clinic. This is shown by the results of a current online survey by the opinion research institute Civey, which was commissioned by AOK NordWest and AOK Rheinland/Hamburg together with the AOK Federal Association.
“This impressively shows that the path taken in North Rhine-Westphalia for a quality-oriented restructuring of hospital structures for better patient care is met with the approval of the population in one of the key points. The clinic reform initiated by the state must now be consistently continued,” demands Tom Ackermann, CEO of AOK NordWest. The deputy chairman of the board of AOK Rheinland/Hamburg, Matthias Mohrmann, explains: “The quality of treatment is strengthened through specialization and concentration of services. In view of the prospect of a further increasing shortage of skilled workers, it is far-sighted to pool competencies and deploy specialists in a targeted manner in order to ensure good quality care for patients throughout the country.”
When asked whether specialization or the proximity of a hospital was more important to people in North Rhine-Westphalia when choosing a hospital, 78 percent voted for specialization. Only 9.3 percent of those surveyed found proximity more important. A high quality of medical care also ranks at the top of the aspects that are considered particularly important for personal health care: with 40.1 percent approval, it is well ahead of quick access to care (22.0 percent) and stable contributions (16.0 percent).
Patients accept longer journeys
The fact that patients in North Rhine-Westphalia are willing to accept longer journeys to a suitable hospital for an upcoming planned operation is clear from the following survey results: Only 16.7 percent of those surveyed would be a maximum of ten kilometers away from the clinic location for planned operations take purchase. The rest of those surveyed would also accept longer distances: 20.4 percent of respondents up to 30 kilometers, 20.2 percent up to 50 kilometers, 15.3 percent up to 100 kilometers and 18.5 percent even longer distances.
More transparency needed
With a view to the planned Hospital Transparency Act, two further survey results stand out: 57.7 percent of respondents in North Rhine-Westphalia currently do not know where they can obtain specific information about the quality of treatment in individual hospitals, 12.8 percent are at least unsure. At the same time, 88.5 percent of those surveyed believe that there should be more and more readily available information about the quality of treatment in hospitals.
The federal and state governments must act now
Ackermann and Mohrmann point out that the nationwide reimbursement reform and the state hospital planning must now go hand in hand. The focus on performance groups and the associated quality criteria must not be watered down. The federal and state governments must now show their colors about how much the reform is worth to them and how they want to provide the necessary funds for this future investment. The clinics now need a reliable financial perspective.
background
For the representative Civey survey, 5,000 people aged 18 and over nationwide were surveyed online from October 6th to 8th, 2023, including 795 in North Rhine-Westphalia.