Lauterbach: This transparency is ethically necessary
28.11.2023 14:04
On November 24th, Federal Health Minister Prof. Karl Lauterbach promoted the Hospital Transparency Act in the Federal Council and appealed to the state chamber to give citizens access to a transparent hospital atlas. The aim is for patients to be able to find out quickly and easily which clinic offers which service and with what quality.
“In my view, transparency is ethically necessary. And I represent this ethical imperative here not just as a minister, but as a doctor, because I am confronted with these cases every week. And we have this data, but we don't use it. It's not about bad or good hospitals, but rather which hospital is good for which service. We make that transparent. And that’s what this reform is about,” said Lauterbach.
With a simple majority, the Federal Council voted on Friday morning to call the Mediation Committee (joint committee of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat), which will now discuss the Hospital Transparency Act.
After the vote, Federal Health Minister Prof. Karl Lauterbach said: “This tends to be bad news for patients. We hope that we can now pass this law quickly. The point is that people can find out in which clinic they receive particularly good treatment. Quality transparency is something we owe to citizens. Transparency must come. The transparency of which hospital is particularly good for which service, so that citizens can make an informed decision. The patients need that, we won’t change that, we won’t deviate from that.”