Original article
Discount agreements – current status and impact on healthcare after one and a half years of the GKV-WSG
19.08.2008
Dr. Rainer Hess, the impartial chairman of the Federal Joint Committee, or G-BA for short, in the MVF cover interview
19.08.2008
The Federal Government Commissioner for Patient Affairs, Helga Kühn-Mengel, in the MVF cover interview
01.06.2008
INSIGHT Health researches the supply of drugs to Alzheimer's patients in the statutory health insurance market.
01.06.2008
Project leader Christian Luley and Kai Martens, the new Managing Director of Grünenthal's German division since August 1, explain why the pharmaceutical company Grünenthal is investing in a broad-based health services research study on pain in an exclusive interview with "Monitor Versorgungsforschung" (MVF). >> DAK and Grünenthal GmbH recently announced the launch of a broad-based health services research study on chronic pain patients. […]
01.06.2008
It's election season in America. Germany is following the candidates' debates with fascination. American healthcare reform plays a major role. However, the candidates' different platforms are largely unknown here. And in Germany, too, the political parties are already in the election campaign, in which healthcare reform will be a key issue. At the invitation of […]
01.06.2008
In order to record, evaluate and change care processes, the data collected must be operationalized into meaningful key figures. These key figures reflect the dimensions of finance, performance and quality. Due to the highly sectorized structure of the German healthcare system, the individual healthcare sector has traditionally been assessed. However, modern key performance indicator systems must be able to map a care process that spans sectors, disciplines and professional groups. Through several legislative processes, health insurance companies have been given a more active role in designing new forms of care. The data available to health insurance companies is now of good quality and allows care to be mapped using key figures. For this purpose, key performance indicator systems can be used that enable a cross-supply process parallel to a sector-specific view. Using such systems, health insurance companies can both intervene in the care process and recognize the effects of such an intervention.
01.06.2008
In the modern imagination, the patient is an active contributor to his or her health. The paradigm shift from accepting to co-determining patients is leading to a redefinition of relationships and behavior in healthcare. Since the doctor largely controls the demand for medical services and products through his medical expertise and information advantage, patients have limited sovereignty from the outset. Politicians and health insurance companies therefore hope that the critical, co-determining patient will have an influence on the system that has so far been controlled by the service providers. What this co-determination on the part of patients could look like was developed in two further studies (Cope 1+2), among others in collaboration with representatives of the European Parliament. This approach showed in which areas and under which conditions chronically ill people could actively contribute to improving our health system.
01.06.2008
Disease management programs are an important part of healthcare in Germany and the Netherlands. In Germany, the results are partially satisfactory. Some relevant disease parameters (surrogate parameters) were improved, but the medical outcomes were only slightly affected. Even the savings promised with the introduction of the DMPs have not yet been realized. In the Netherlands, special software support was used to make DMPs really effective across sectoral supply boundaries. The software-based DMP introduction was accompanied by the parallel deployment of nurses, doctor's assistants and other medical professionals in order to effectively relieve the doctors' workload. This dual approach was key to the programs' success. In addition, multi-disease programs that focus on individual indications will replace DMPs in the future; because they more accurately reflect the given multimorbidity of larger sections of the population. Under the conditions of the new Morbi-RSA in Germany, the new and “old” DMPs will be aimed at the diseases depicted here. Providers and developers of DMPs are called upon to develop solutions for these new indications and to integrate innovative technologies available today. Funds and private health insurance companies should catalyze these developments through accompanying new compensation mechanisms such as quality-oriented compensation (pay for performance) or risk sharing.
01.06.2008
Psychological aspects of a hospital stay are crucial components of the choice of hospital. The qualitative psychological study by psychonomics AG examines this topic from the patient's perspective. As a result, six dimensions of experience form parts of a complex and sometimes contradictory motif structure. The holistic nature of the motif structure means that a one-sided approach to the motif can lead to unexpected side effects. The results are not only the key to successful hospital marketing, which is becoming increasingly important in times of increasing financial challenges and increasing patient responsibility. In connection with this, their use ensures optimized care for patients.