Archive:
Interview with Prof. Dr. Jochen A. Werner, Medical Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Essen University Hospital.
01.10.2024
Comment by Dr. Michael Brinkmeier, Chairman of the Board of the German Stroke Foundation
01.10.2024
Commentary by Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Andreas Radbruch, German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin, a Leibniz Institute
01.10.2024
Series (Part 43): Center for Medical Services Research at the University Hospital Erlangen
01.10.2024
Focus: the specialty pharmaceutical market
01.10.2024
Where and with what success are vaccinations administered? This was the topic of the 7th MVF Vaccination Congress, entitled "Vaccination Status 2024," which—as in previous online congresses—focused on how to actually increase vaccination rates. These rates are generally poor, meaning too low, and in many cases, far too low. This applies to many vaccine-preventable diseases, including influenza, measles, and RSV, an infection that can cause serious complications such as cardiovascular events and for which entirely new vaccination options are available.
01.10.2024
Commentary by Prof. Dr. Josef Franz Lindner, Chair of Public Law, Medical Law and Legal Philosophy, Faculty of Law, University of Augsburg
01.10.2024
The prescription volume of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) remains high, although the literature increasingly indicates over-prescribing relative to guideline recommendations. Recent data on the situation in Germany are lacking. The aim of this study was to determine the actual quantity of prescribed and over-the-counter PPIs in Germany. Based on several large IQVIA databases, we show that a total of 2.87 billion PPI tablets were sold between November 2020 and October 2021, with most prescriptions being for the largest pack sizes and strengths. Furthermore, the over-the-counter PPI market grew by an average of 141 million per year over a three-year period. The results of this study suggest the considerable size of the prescription PPI market in Germany, as well as a consistent increase in over-the-counter PPI purchases and a recent rise in prescriptions.
01.10.2024
According to the National Cancer Plan, all cancer patients should receive high-quality care in accordance with evidence-based treatment guidelines in uniformly qualified centers. The WiZen study demonstrated significant survival benefits for all 11 cancer types examined when receiving initial treatment in a center certified by the German Cancer Society (DKG) compared to non-certified hospitals. Nevertheless, a high proportion of cancer patients are treated in non-certified hospitals. The Hospital Care Improvement Act (KHVVG) provides for a concentration of services in the field of oncological surgery; the hospital locations that collectively provide the fewest and 15% of cases with corresponding onco-surgical services for a cancer entity are to be exempt from reimbursement. We used an impact analysis based on data from Section 21 of the KHEntgG (German Hospital Care Improvement Act) for 2022 to examine the extent to which the planned concentration of services will lead to the implementation of the National Cancer Plan and the results of the WiZen study. The entities considered were breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, bronchial cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, gastric cancer, and esophageal cancer. Of the sites that would meet the criteria of the KHVVG, between 17.9% (breast cancer) and 85.5% (gastric cancer) are not certified according to the DKG criteria. Thus, if Section 40 of the KHG (new) is implemented, a significant proportion of patients would continue to be treated outside of certified centers, leaving corresponding quality potential untapped. Furthermore, the proposed new regulation only addresses surgical interventions per (cancer) entity—thus exempting all non-oncosurgical cancer treatments from the quality-based service concentration. Overall, to achieve the goal of hospital reform—namely, to improve the morbidity and mortality of patients with cancer—it appears significantly more effective to limit oncological care, as envisioned in the National Cancer Plan, exclusively to those facilities that meet the certification requirements of the German Cancer Society and thus demonstrably ensure guideline-compliant, evidence-based care for cancer patients. According to an analysis by the government commission, this would not significantly restrict accessibility for the population.
04.08.2024
Introduction: Interdisciplinary (pain) therapy is recommended as the standard of care for endometriosis. This study examines current care structures and challenges. Methods: An online survey and expert interviews were conducted. Results: 19 experts participated in the online survey, and 9 were additionally interviewed. This provided a schematic overview of typical treatments and billing modalities for inpatient, day-care, and outpatient multimodal pain therapy. Furthermore, significant discrepancies between the treatment standards demanded by the experts and the reality of care were identified. Possible causes identified include a lack of multimodal therapies outside of inpatient treatment, a shortage of skilled workers in various professions involved, the delayed initiation of multimodal pain therapy only when pain has progressed to chronicity, and gaps in care due to non-reimbursable treatments. Conclusion: This study reveals various challenges and gaps in care in multimodal pain therapy for endometriosis. Experts see a need for action in several areas. The exact design of the multimodal therapy should remain individual, but common minimum requirements were made clear.