Make hospital reform a success – enable top-quality care for everyone

28.03.2023 15:29

The meeting of health ministers on March 23 showed that the federal and state governments want to stick to the direction of hospital reform despite different interests. Such an important reform, which is long overdue and on whose necessity all those responsible agree, must not fail.

The federal and state governments must keep the problem in mind and not get lost in the small details. They must recognize that this reform can only succeed together. The fact remains: the states are responsible for hospital planning, the federal government is responsible for financing operating costs. Smart and future-proof further development in hospital planning and financing is the core of a successful hospital reform, according to a recent statement by the Association of University Hospitals in Germany.

The meeting of health ministers on March 23 showed that the federal and state governments want to stick to the direction of hospital reform despite different interests. Such an important reform, which is long overdue and on whose necessity all those responsible agree, must not fail. The federal and state governments must keep the problem in mind and not get lost in the small details. They must recognize that this reform can only succeed together. The fact remains: the states are responsible for hospital planning, the federal government is responsible for financing operating costs. Smart and future-proof further development in hospital planning and financing is the core of a successful hospital reform.

Professor Jens Scholz, 1st Chairman of the VUD, says: “It is good if the Federal Minister of Health now wants to make a more concrete proposal for the reform, which he will then discuss together with the states. The basic idea of using levels and service groups to further develop hospital care in a future-proof manner must continue to be the focus. This includes the designation of Level IIIU of the university hospitals. The performance groups must also not be overloaded with requirements that are well-intentioned but cannot be implemented in practice. The criteria can be ambitious in order to guarantee patients high-quality care, but they must not be unattainable.”

Jens Bussmann, General Secretary of the VUD, adds: “Clear but manageable structural criteria are a better approach than process criteria that are difficult to prove. This must be taken into account when developing the performance groups. In the end, we need performance groups that are related to level and reserve funding. The following applies: Complex performance groups that require more reserves must also be associated with higher reserve budgets. This is particularly true for university hospitals, which offer a unique medical spectrum and can therefore help patients when others no longer know what to do.”

Ultimately, the reform must promote good medicine that benefits patients. Good medicine today is interdisciplinary and brings together the appropriate experts depending on the clinical picture. This is only possible at the regional level through collaboration in networks. University hospitals with their regional appeal have the necessary size and expertise to coordinate regional care. In such a network, each actor takes on an important task depending on their role. This creates a “network instead of piecemeal” and “top quality care for everyone”.