Coalition agreement confirms important role of university medicine

07.12.2021 13:07

The coalition agreement for the new federal government, which begins work tomorrow, addresses many issues in university medicine. This is an important signal. The pandemic has once again shown what a crucial role it plays for the health and science system. At the same time, the increasingly difficult economic situation in university medicine requires quick decisions.

German University Medicine welcomes the coalition's goal of establishing hospital planning and financing with five levels of care and anchoring the university clinic as its own, highest level of care in the system. “A reform of hospital planning and financing is urgently needed in order to make the hospital landscape future-proof based on the pandemic experience. It is right to focus on the special role of university hospitals as their own level of care. For efficient university medicine, we now also need to set the course quickly with financial improvements,” says Prof. Dr. Jens Scholz, 1st Chairman of the Association of University Hospitals in Germany (VUD).

Another right approach is adequate financing of pediatrics, emergency care and obstetrics, as well as dedicated financing of the costs of further training for doctors. German University Medicine also sees the role that health research is given as a future investment topic as a positive signal. This applies in particular to the further financing of the university medicine network and the medical informatics initiative.

“But what would be important now,” says Matthias Frosch, President of the Medical Faculty Association, “is that the coalition secures the financing of the new medical licensing regulations. Only if this happens promptly can the planned introduction of the licensing regulations take place before 2026.” During the previous legislative period, the actors involved were unable to agree on a financial framework, which could cause the schedule to be postponed.