The number of outpatient emergency cases continued to rise in 2022.
22.08.2023 18:25
The use of outpatient emergency care continued to increase in 2022. Following a pandemic-related decline, an increase in emergency treatments had already been evident since spring 2021, and this trend continued into 2022. The increase was significantly more pronounced in the on-call medical service than in hospital emergency rooms.
Overall, the on-call medical service (ÄBD) saw an increase of 1,258,573 cases (+22 percent) in 2022 compared to 2021. During the same period, the number of outpatient emergencies in emergency rooms rose by only 972,382 cases (+11 percent). The increase in the ÄBD was particularly pronounced in December 2022 (+46 percent compared to December 2021). In that month, the ÄBD even treated more emergencies during its on-call hours than the emergency rooms, which are open around the clock.
These are the key findings of a recent analysis of contracted physician billing data for the period from January 2021 to December 2022, published by the Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Zi).
„The sharp increase in respiratory illnesses in the second half of 2022 is primarily reflected in the utilization of the on-call medical service. With their commitment, office-based physicians and their practice teams also relieved the burden on hospital emergency rooms. The number of cases in hospitals did not increase comparably towards the end of the year. The billing data we have recently analyzed confirms the important role of the on-call medical service in the emergency care system. In the peak month of December 2022 alone, office-based physicians provided outpatient care for almost 830,000 emergency cases. In contrast, hospital emergency rooms saw just over 770,000 patients that month. Of these, 62 percent, or approximately 477,000, were seen during on-call hours,“ said Dr. Dominik von Stillfried, Chairman of the Board of the Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Zi). He added that this was also the result of intensified initiatives by the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians to optimize the on-call service. Particularly noteworthy are the establishment of portal and on-call practices, the widespread expansion of the mobile service, and the activation of the on-call service number 116117.
„"The use of hospital emergency rooms by less severe cases can be further and consistently reduced. In addition to expanding on-call medical practices, many regional associations of statutory health insurance physicians are introducing a telemedicine on-call service, i.e., telephone consultations or video consultations. Further applications are conceivable here to provide quick and reliable advice to those seeking help or to connect them with appropriate care. Furthermore, it is possible to refer a large proportion of those seeking help independently in emergency rooms to suitable practices during regular office hours. Regional associations of statutory health insurance physicians also offer support to hospitals in this regard. However, these newly created structures are costly and are largely financed by the contributions that office-based physicians pay to the regional associations of statutory health insurance physicians as administrative costs. This is not appropriate and, without adequate offsetting funding, is unsustainable in many places. Therefore, policymakers must now urgently create better financial conditions for this neglected aspect of emergency care," concluded the Chairman of the Board of the Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Zi).