Zi honors lighthouse projects in outpatient care
21.03.2023 16:09
On March 15, the Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance (Zi) awarded three outstanding models of outpatient care with the title “Excellent Health 2023”. A total of ten regional projects from the statutory health insurance associations from the categories acute care, digital care and cooperative care were available to choose from.
The 200 guests from politics, the medical profession and science voted live in the Allianz Forum in Berlin-Mitte after each four-minute project statement to decide on the awards in the respective categories. Leading representatives from politics and self-administration then discussed the innovative nature of the award-winning initiatives as well as the current challenges in statutory health care.
“This evening once again showed how diverse and innovative primary care and specialist medical care is in Germany. During the Corona pandemic, we all experienced first-hand the great commitment that all employees in the practices, both medical and non-medical staff, put into caring for their patients. There are now new challenges in acute and emergency care, as well as in digitalization and improving interdisciplinary collaboration. We see that this is already being tackled with great energy in many places. The regional lighthouse projects presented this evening also bear witness to this. They show what can be achieved and what assistance from the legislature is necessary. But it is also clear: the associations of statutory health insurance physicians are sources of inspiration and ideas for the medical care of tomorrow,” said the chairman of the board of the Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance (Zi), Dr. Dominik von Stillfried.
In view of increasing staff shortages in all areas of medical care, the system of statutory health insurance associations is increasingly being called upon to guarantee comprehensive and local care from general practitioners, specialists and psychotherapists, the Zi board chairman continued. “This evening showed us again: the practices are close to the people; they work efficiently, quickly and safely. We presented three awards, but all ten projects won tonight. They not only reached a large audience, but also showed how successful tomorrow's care can be: close to people, with heart and hand. We hope that they will continue to successfully contribute to innovative medical care for patients in the regions.”
Effective and efficient patient care as a key factor
The first prize in the acute care category went to the project Effective and Efficient Patient Care as a Key Factor of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV) Berlin. Since 2017, KV Berlin has consistently pursued the goal of systematically further developing outpatient care structures and steering patients to the appropriate treatment levels. Thanks to the cooperation of an intelligent control center with eleven KV emergency services practices and a home visit service for immobile patients, this is increasingly successful. KV Berlin will now focus on expanding its know-how to provide patients with information during consultation hours in doctor's offices.
Telemedical initial consultation for children and young people
The Telemedical Initial Consultation for Children and Adolescents initiative from KV Nordrhein secured first place in the Digital Care session. From December 24, 2022 to January 31, 2023, doctors offered the additional offer of digital initial consultations on Wednesdays, public holidays and weekends in order to equalize and alleviate the high burden on pediatricians and emergency services practices over the turn of the year. In total, more than 2,300 video consultations were carried out. Almost half of the parents who called were able to receive final help as part of the online consultation, so that the young patients did not have to go to an emergency service for further treatment.
IP-Wound brings wound treatment back to the doctor’s office
In the cooperative care division, the innovation fund project IP-Wound brings wound treatment back to the KV Bremen doctor's office emerged as the winner. In the IP-Wound innovation fund project, a comprehensive network of outpatient, specialized wound practices (SWP) with qualified specialist staff was established. After the initial contact, primary care general practices and specialist practices refer the patient to an SWP (5x Bremen, 2x Bremerhaven) and can at the same time remain part of the treatment network. Since the treatment of chronic wounds is complex, interdisciplinary communication between those treating them should be made possible through a digital wound file that patients can also see.
The Zi has invited people to this event format for the fifth time. All of this year's “Excellent Health 2023” award winners and further information as well as the complete recording of the evening can be found at: www.excellent-health.de.