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Since the Medicines Market Reorganization Act (AMNOG) came into force in Germany in 2011, the importance of quality of life data in the benefit assessment of medicines has increased significantly. However, the same also applies to the methodological and conceptual requirements that are placed on their collection and evaluation within the framework of clinical studies. Current problem areas include, among other things, the validation of the measurement instruments designed for the survey, the establishment of accepted relevance thresholds for depicting a clinically significant effect, dealing with insufficient response to questionnaires and concepts for the statistical evaluation of quality of life data in the context of studies with survival time endpoints. Approaches to solving these problems are discussed in a field in which the different interests of academic research, the institutions responsible for evaluations and drug manufacturers come together. A constructive dialogue between all those involved is necessary to create viable concepts.
29.01.2022
“In the medium and long term, however, it is not fiscal but rather structural measures that are needed for an efficient statutory health insurance,” says Johannes Bauernfeind, CEO of AOK Baden-Württemberg, starting an important discussion on future competition in the healthcare system. He further writes: “This insight revives the 'old' discussion about the relationship between state regulation and competitive approaches - and with it the desire for a suitable regulatory framework that, in particular, promotes the quality and efficiency of health care in the best possible way." (1)
29.01.2022
“If you, like us as a large utility company, are concerned with measuring results and methods, the question arises as to which theory is behind the measurement” (Teichert). “Theories are patterns of thought. Theories are ways of understanding problems, ways of approaching things” (Amelung). “A lack of theory is not only a scientific problem, but also a problem for practice” (Pfaff). Three voices, three perspectives on the question of whether health services research has its own theories or - if these have not yet been found and agreed upon - whether it even needs them. At the specialist congress “Dare Theory”, which “Monitor Healthcare Research” held online at the end of last year in cooperation with the Federal Association of Managed Care eV (BMC), it quickly became clear what was already in the quotes from Daniela Teichert, CEO of AOK Nordost, Prof .Dr. Volker Amelung, the chairman of the board of the BMC, and Prof. Dr. It became clear to Holger Pfaff, director of the Institute for Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science (IMVR) at the University of Cologne: Health services research needs not just one theory, but many, which exist in abundance in the scientific fields around it. You just have to know them and (want to) use them.
29.01.2022
There is explosive material hidden in the chart collection with the actually quite innocuous title “Status quo and perspectives of the current financial situation of the GKV”. According to the evaluations presented in this chart collection by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wasem, the holder of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Endowed Chair for Medical Management at the University of Duisburg-Essen, must take urgent and rapid political action if a sharp increase in additional contribution rates is to be prevented from as early as 2023 in order to avoid the dramatically increasing underfunding of the health fund to prevent. In the BMC web discussion "Current financial situation of the GKV" on January 19, 2022, Wasem opened up a whole range of options for action, from massive increases in additional contributions, enormous increases in tax-financed subsidies to drastic savings in the multi-billion euro range - or a mixture of the same. Wasem: “How do we finance this primary underfunding?”
29.01.2022
Innovative projects - even those with the power to improve the supply landscape - have a difficult time moving from project status to becoming permanent and from there possibly even into standard care. Nobody knows this better than the members of the MSD Health Prize jury. For ten years now, they have been busy trying to find out from the now seemingly countless applications and applications exactly those who - according to co-initiator and juror Dr. Jutta Wendel-Schrief from MSD – “have shown concrete, relevant patient benefit or care processes – ideally without additional costs – are optimized, scalable and economical”. The diverse answers given by the jurors of the MSD Health Prize in this interview show how complex not only the topic area is, but also the requirements for the evaluation and therefore also for the evaluation framework further developed by the jury in 2021.
29.01.2022
Since 2012, health economics issues have been addressed at the University of Duisburg-Essen together with the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and other partners. Although there were already a variety of activities in the field of health economics and medical management before CINCH (Competent in Competition and Health) was founded, funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as a national center for health economics has made a significant contribution to this since 2012 that a nationally networked and internationally visible research community in the field of health economics has emerged in the Ruhr area. Research at CINCH1 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Martin Karlsson takes place in seven project groups, led among others by Jun.-Prof. Dr. Katharina Blankart, MBR, and Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wasem. The groups are supported by five associated members. In addition to the RWI and DICE, there are a number of national (e.g. Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance) and international collaborations (e.g. University of Gothenburg, Monash University, Erasmus University Rotterdam).
29.01.2022
Many topics that have dominated the health policy discussion in Germany and internationally in recent years have been pushed into an almost distant background due to the Corona crisis1. Quality orientation as a central paradigm - who is still aware of the intensity with which the quality offensive was discussed in the middle of the last decade, the patient safety issue was at the forefront, competitive elements such as pay for performance heated up emotions, patient autonomy was held up as the greatest asset and the patient -Reported outcomes were celebrated as cornerstones of quality measurement. Perhaps the most difficult task today is to restore continuity between the present determined by Corona and the themes of this seemingly distant past. Not everything can have been wrong, but on the other hand, it must be recognized that Corona has meant that some of the assumptions and certainties from just a year and a half ago that were considered unchangeable require intensive discussion and addition. The present text can only outline the problem and present a work program based on a few examples. A detailed derivation of the conceptual consequences based on the previous findings from the corona pandemic and the technical and scientific foundations of the quality and safety discussion of the last decades must be reserved for the in-depth discussion in the next few years and will take on a considerably larger scope.ckende Acute diseases such as stroke and myocardial infarction are documented less frequently. The behavioral change that resulted from the implementation of strict hygiene rules may also have led to a “real” decrease in the rates of non-Covid-19 infectious diseases (5,6). In other words, the measures taken to combat the Covid-19 pandemic may also have influenced the spread of other germs that cause respiratory tract infections (AI) and gastrointestinal infections (GI). For this reason, in the present study the authors wanted to investigate the frequency of these AI and GI during the Covid-19 pandemic using data from a large database that includes anonymized treatment information from general practitioners and pediatricians in Germany.
28.01.2022
The global introduction of strict regulations to contain the coronavirus disease (SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19) pandemic had noticeable consequences for social life. Measures such as reducing indoor seating, social distancing, mandatory mask use and “stay at home” campaigns have drastically reduced interactions between people. These measures proved effective in reducing Covid-19 infection rates and thereby preventing the spread of the virus (1,2). However, several other pathogens, viruses and bacteria, are transmitted from person to person in a similar manner (3,4). This applies, for example, to many pathogens that cause respiratory and intestinal infections (5). During the Covid-19 pandemic, some non-communicable acute illnesses such as stroke and myocardial infarction have been documented less frequently. The behavioral change that resulted from the implementation of strict hygiene rules may also have led to a “real” decrease in the rates of non-Covid-19 infectious diseases (5,6). In other words, the measures taken to combat the Covid-19 pandemic may also have influenced the spread of other germs that cause respiratory tract infections (AI) and gastrointestinal infections (GI). For this reason, in the present study the authors wanted to investigate the frequency of these AI and GI during the Covid-19 pandemic using data from a large database that includes anonymized treatment information from general practitioners and pediatricians in Germany.
28.01.2022
The ongoing corona pandemic shows us every day how important up-to-date and valid information is for restoring, maintaining and promoting health. How easy or difficult it is to access health-related information and materials is largely determined by the environments in which we live and work - and thus the so-called organizational health competence (Ernstmann et al. 2020; Schaeffer et al. 2018). In addition to the individual ability to deal with health-related information, organizations and institutions in particular are responsible for supporting the procurement and handling of health information for users (i.e. patients, residents, clients and relatives) (Ernstmann et al . 2020; Schaeffer et al. 2018). For example, the use of foreign words in health-related information makes comprehension more difficult, while texts in simple language are also easier to understand for people with a low educational background or cognitive impairments (Pelikan/Dietscher 2015). Management and specialist staff in particular play an important role in the provision and handling of health-related information for users and their health literacy (DeGani et al. 2020). Acute diseases such as stroke and myocardial infarction are documented less frequently. The change in behavior resulting from the implementation of strict hygiene rules may also have led to a “real” decrease in rates of non-Covid-19 infectious diseases (5,6). In other words, the measures taken to combat the Covid-19 pandemic may also have affected the spread of other germs that cause respiratory (AI) and gastrointestinal (GI) infections. For this reason, in the present study, the authors wanted to examine the frequency of these AIs and GIs during the Covid-19 pandemic using data from a large database that includes anonymized treatment information from general practitioners and paediatricians in Germany.
28.01.2022
“Complete and sustainably optimized supply chains instead of gaps in care” postulates the strategy paper “Vivantes 2030”, whereby – according to the idea and hope – the health care to be provided will then be provided in a “smart network” of inpatient maximum care competence centers and regional, patient-oriented health centers with integrated emergency and specialist doctor capacities should take place. The long road to get there, the tasks, challenges and also hurdles are described in the title interview of “Monitor Healthcare Research” by Dr. Johannes Danckert, Chairman of the Management Board (acting) Vivantes Network for Health GmbH. He says: “These are not just visions, but packages of measures that are backed up with exact schedules and key figures.”