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The legislature had commissioned the Joint Federal Budget Committee with the Statutory Health Insurance Supply Strengthening Act to review the applicable ratios and, based on this, to further develop the requirements planning. The aim is to take greater account of the population's actual care needs and to promote needs-based care close to home. On behalf of the G-BA, an interdisciplinary consortium under the consortium leadership of the Department of Health Services Management at the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich has presented a report on the further development of requirements planning within the meaning of Sections 99 ff. SGB V to ensure statutory health care. Against this background, a symposium on “Demand planning and supply in the regions” took place at the LMU Munich on May 23, 2019.
04.04.2019
In oncology, the idea is becoming more and more common that cancer is a disease of genes rather than of the organs affected. This finding is changing research and the question of how patients can be treated in the future. Modern cancer therapies therefore pursue a cross-entity treatment approach. They are directed against the individual attack points of the disease that are responsible for the development and growth of the tumor, such as the test substance entrectinib in NTRK fusion-positive tumors. New findings from this field were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Experts discussed the extent to which cancer therapy is changing as a result of this rethinking and what effects this has on research at a Roche Pharma event.
04.04.2019
Prof. Dr. Jochen Schmitt, congress president of the German Congress for Health Care Research (DKVF), which is taking place for the 18th time this year, and director of the Center for Evidence-Based Health Care (ZEGV) at the University Hospital Dresden, takes a position on the major task of health care research that lies ahead: the support and promotion of transfer effective concepts and interventions from research into routine care, with the help of which a learning health system can be created.
04.04.2019
The aim of the BMC conference “The Future of the Innovation Fund: From Funding to Standard Care” was to reflect on the current status of the Innovation Fund (IF) and discuss proposals for transferring successful care projects funded by the IF into standard care, which took place in the state representation of Saarland took place. A common thread ran through all of the practical and theoretical lectures, which were then discussed in more detail by leading scientists and experts at so-called topic tables and agreed upon in small groups: The path to standard care will be a difficult, long and equally rocky one.
04.04.2019
On behalf of the European Commission, international health experts made a series of recommendations intended to place redistribution in health systems on a real, values-based basis. The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Health Technology Assessment (LBI-HTA) from Vienna was on the panel through its director, Priv. Doc. Dr. phil. Claudia Wild, who calls for a retreat from excess and inadequate care in favor of “high value” health care.
04.04.2019
On June 6th of this year, the Bundestag passed the law for more security in the supply of pharmaceuticals (GSAV). The Federal Council approved it with a narrow majority on June 28th. The packages of measures included are so diverse that in this article the regulations on imports, biosimilars and hemophilia are selectively selected and illuminated using data on the pharmaceutical market.
04.04.2019
Systematic reviews show the multitude of medical interventions that are provided worldwide despite having little to no benefit to patients and sometimes doing more harm than good (Morgan et al. 2019, Brownlee et al. 2017). Studies estimate that around a third of all patients receive medical services that are probably unnecessary, ineffective or even harmful (Ellen et al. 2018). A significant proportion of health spending in OECD countries has no benefit, is wasted and can even cause harm (OECD 2017). In its most recent report, the Advisory Council for the Health Care System once again points to over-, under- and incorrect care and corresponding control deficits in the German health care system (SVR, 2018). As part of the analyzes carried out by the Bertelsmann Foundation's Health Fact Check, significant regional differences were repeatedly identified. These differences are often constant over years and indicate regionally different supply structures, care habits and insufficient evidence-based care and possible overprovision (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2015).
04.04.2019
Patients who take at least three medications (AM) long-term have the legal right to have their family doctor draw up a national medication plan (BMP) (1-3). The introduction of the BMP, initially limited to the private sector, the lack of an interdisciplinary approach, the lack of suitable information technology and integration techniques led to criticism of the BMP and even rejection (4,5). With the establishment of hospital discharge management in mid-2017, the issuance of a medication plan (MP) was also established in the inpatient sector (6) and intersectoral use was initiated. But hospitals also lack suitable IT equipment and human resources. A current, completely and understandably completed BMP can serve as a source of information and as valuable training material for patients (5,7). Poor drug therapy safety and medication errors are caused by incomplete medication plans, incomplete information to the patient and inadequate exchange of information between the treating health care providers (8,9). The planned use of the standardized BMP on the electronic health card also requires interoperability of the information systems in the healthcare system [hospital information system (KIS), practice (PVS), pharmacy management systems (AVS)] as well as the willingness to participate and improve quality.
04.04.2019
Painkillers are one of the most commonly prescribed drug classes [1] and are used for a variety of diseases (e.g. headaches [2], arthritis [3], traumatic injuries [4], postoperative pain [5] and cancer) [6 ]. In 2016, between 22% and 57% of patients in general practices in Europe received painkiller prescriptions [7]. Paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; e.g. ibuprofen or ketoprofen) and opioids (e.g. morphine or fentanyl) are the most commonly used painkillers today. These medicines are available with a prescription or without a prescription, depending on the medication and country. Pain is a very common symptom in women, making its effective treatment extremely important in this population [8–10]. One of the most common types of pain in women is chronic pelvic pain, which can be related to endometriosis [11], premenstrual syndrome [12] or urinary tract infections [13]. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in painkiller prescribing patterns among women [7,14–23]. For example, a 2017 study showed that between 25% and 60% of women in France, Germany and the UK were prescribed such drugs [7]. Other researchers estimated in an Australian study of over 20,400 participants that 13% of women complaining of chronic pain had recently taken opioids and 19% had received non-opioids [20]. Although these studies are of great interest, they were not conducted in gynecological practices in Germany and it is difficult to generalize their results to this setting. The aim of the present study was therefore to analyze the prescription prevalence and patterns of painkillers in gynecological practices in Germany.
04.04.2019
The following concept is intended to contribute to the methodological discussion about the use of application-related data in benefit assessment. Based on an overview of the current handling of non-randomized data by relevant health technology assessment (HTA) organizations as well as an overview of possible methodological evaluation procedures, recommendations are formulated on evidence generation, evidence assessment and necessary G-BA specifications that must be taken into account of the data for the quantifiability of an additional benefit.