Good prospects for patient navigators
24.09.2021 17:36
It is currently probably the largest project testing the introduction of patient navigators in Germany. STROKE OWL officially ends at the end of September, but it continues – the consortium partners believe the chances for a health policy innovation are growing.
Health insurance funds continue to finance pilots
Over the past four years, more than 1,600 patients in the East Westphalia-Lippe region have been supported by 17 stroke navigators. The project, funded with €7.1 million from the Federal Innovation Fund, was implemented by the German Stroke Foundation and its partners – health insurance companies and hospitals. The scientific evaluation will take several more months. However, almost all of the participating health insurance companies are so impressed with the project's progress to date that they have already agreed to continue funding stroke navigator services in the East Westphalia-Lippe model region.
Expert calls it a "lighthouse project"„
Around 120 participants recently drew a positive interim conclusion at an online conference. Prof. Dr. Peter Löcherbach (Mainz), Chairman of the German Society for Care and Case Management, described it as a "lighthouse project." Social policy expert Günter Garbrecht (Bielefeld), Chairman of the project advisory board, sees the interim funding from health insurance funds as already "half the battle" toward legally enshrining patient navigators. Initial survey results show a significant improvement in the quality of life for patients, particularly those with more severe strokes. The University of Bielefeld will analyze the data and compare it with other patient groups who were not accompanied by navigators. In addition to the improved quality of life for patients, the analysis will also address the question of whether navigators contribute to preventing recurrent strokes.
The idea is already spreading.
A first tangible result of the project will be available in a few days: a patient navigator's handbook designed to promote the concept of patient navigators. Following this model, hospitals in various regions of Germany have already implemented navigators in collaboration with stroke support organizations. Currently, there are 43 patient navigator projects across Germany, spanning all medical conditions. Their common goal is to provide patients with complex care needs with dedicated support persons who guide and advise them through our complex healthcare system. The topic of patient navigators has gained traction across party lines in politics and appears to have majority support, as the conference participants agreed.
Politics requires patience.
But in politics, real change requires patience and perseverance, says Dr. Brigitte Mohn, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the German Stroke Foundation. For ten years, the foundation has been advancing projects with stroke navigators. Now, there are initial, promising results, and the issue is entering the political discourse. The majority of conference participants expect that patient navigators will become part of standard care within the next ten years. The groundwork for this needs to be laid under the next federal government. Dr. Michael Brinkmeier, Chairman of the Board of the German Stroke Foundation, sees the foundation and its partners on the right track. "This is demonstrated by the many positive responses from patients and the trust we already receive from health insurance companies."„