Barmer Hospital Report 2017: Older patients in Germany not receiving optimal care

20.07.2017 10:41

In Germany, the number of multimorbid geriatric patients over 70 is increasing. Between 2006 and 2015, their number increased by 80 percent, from 1.1 million to two million. However, financial misincentives can lead to geriatric patients receiving hospital care for longer or shorter periods than necessary. This is the finding of the 2017 Barmer Hospital Report.

According to Barmer, the background to this development is the rigid reimbursement for so-called geriatric early rehabilitation complex treatment (GFKB), which is based on the length of hospital stay. This can be provided directly in the hospital after treatment of an acute illness and can also prepare patients for traditional rehabilitation treatment. GFKB can be divided according to the length of stay and the number of therapy sessions. Essentially, a distinction is made between a minimum of seven, 14, and 21 treatment days. "The rigid coding requirements for geriatric early rehabilitation complex treatment are no longer up-to-date in their current form. The duration of treatment should be more closely aligned with the individual needs of the patient and medical criteria," said the CEO of Barmer, Prof. Dr. Christoph Straub.