Original article
Roland Nagel, Managing Director of Gesundheitforen Leipzig GmbH, has been working with health industry data for half his life and is currently running several registers, such as the national transplant register, the RECCORD register of the German Society for Angiology and the Society for Vascular Medicine, and In addition, the evaluation center for the organized early cancer detection programs is currently preparing for the G-BA. “Monitor Healthcare Research” spoke to Roland Nagel about the current status of the big data discussion in Germany.
08.10.2020
Although the pharmaceutical market has calmed down somewhat and COVID-19 has become a part of the new normal, this article looks back at the beginning of the pandemic. In addition to the recent national changes in the prescription (Rx), over-the-counter (OTC), and medical device markets, significant regional differences are also evident. These are due to widely varying infection rates, differing age demographics, and, in particular, access to medications. Finally, the vaccine market continues to be significantly impacted by the effects of COVID-19.
28.07.2020
Dr. Paul Stoffels, global head of research at Janssen's parent company Johnson & Johnson, explains in an interview with "Monitor Healthcare Research" the background that led to the founding of the AMR Action Fund as a "new, strong alliance" against antibiotic resistance (AMR). Around 700,000 people die from AMR every year, with Stoffels adding that “by 2050, ten million people worldwide could die from uncontrollable infections every year.”
28.07.2020
BARMER has a long history in health services research. It has been organizing its own care and research congress since 2016 and has been publishing its highly regarded drug reports as well as several others since 2010 - on topics such as medicines and aids, outpatient care (doctor), health, hospital, care and dental health. This means that the fund has made a name for itself in health services research even before the merger as GEK and Barmer. The BARMER Institute for Health Systems Research, or bifg for short, was recently founded. “Monitor Health Care Research” spoke about this with the CEO of BARMER, Prof. Dr. med. Christopher Straub.
28.07.2020
Relatives such as children, spouses, parents, siblings or friends often play central roles in outpatient and inpatient care. Although most of the discourse is about relatives providing care, relatives also act, for example, as referrers, mediators, information seekers, translators or decision-makers (Bischofberger, 2011). They are thus (regardless of the patient's care needs) essential support in the treatment and management of numerous diseases (Reifegerste, 2019). At the same time, however, they can also disrupt care processes or at least be perceived accordingly by healthcare professionals because, for example, they impede the patient's recovery by providing too much support, their absence makes discharge more difficult, or they confront the doctors with too high expectations (Wilz & Meichsner, 2012 ). However, the majority of them show a high level of motivation to support the patient in coping with illnesses, so that the question arises as to how their motivation can be integrated well into care processes. Although the relatives are omnipresent in health care - be it with positive as well as negative consequences - they are often not considered as a stakeholder of the care. They are “hidden in plain sight” (Wolff & Roter, 2008). In nursing facilities, in paediatrics, oncology or palliative care, they are usually considered to be key participants. In many other areas of care, on the other hand, they are sometimes regarded as an annoying appendage of the patient, ignored or even actively avoided, even if there are hardly any diseases or patients in which they play no role at all (Reifebarste, in press).
28.07.2020
The digitalization of medicine makes it possible to detect diseases more quickly, monitor them better and take new findings into account promptly when making individual therapy decisions. The chemical and pharmaceutical industries are also facing this change, even though they are in the middle of the commercial economy in terms of digitalization in Germany. The current focus is primarily on the activities of Big Tech companies or digital healthcare start-ups and their approaches to drug development using big data or AI. However, little attention is paid to how the pharmaceutical industry, with its products that often require explanation, positions itself to communicate relevant information about its products and services to patients and medical professionals using digital tools and service innovations. The perspective of the patient without previous medical training must be taken into account, as well as the need for scientifically based information from medical professionals. The following comments are therefore dedicated to these new approaches to medical information.
28.07.2020
Thesis paper 3.0 builds on the previous papers (see MVF 03/20), updates the epidemiological analysis and focuses on the “third way” of specific prevention, the legal analysis and the problem of the corona tracing app. A strategy for stable control of the infection process and preventative measures to identify risk situations are described. Likewise, the path to returning civil rights that were restricted during the pandemic to a return to normality. The article published here is a short version of the full version, which was published by MVF in an online-first version.
28.07.2020
In Germany, around 7.5 million people live with diabetes (IDF2017) [1]. A total of 95% of them have type 2 diabetes (T2D) and 5% have diabetes type 1 (T1D) or another type according to the diabetes classification [2]. In many cases, oral antidiabetic drugs for T2D or insulin for T1D and T2D can be used very successfully [3-4]. The goal of diabetes management is always to achieve and maintain good blood sugar control. As recommended by the American Diabetes Association, a glucose level of 70-180 mg/dl (3.8-10 mmol/l) should be achieved. This value can of course be adjusted individually as required. The second goal is to avoid hypoglycemia (<70 mg/dl or <3.8 mmol/l) and hyperglycemia (>180 mg/dl or 10 mmol/l) as much as possible. The long-term goal of diabetes treatment is the prevention of diabetes complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy [5-10]. The biggest burden in the daily life of a patient with diabetes is monitoring blood sugar. Many fingertip blood samples are necessary every day in order to be able to adjust the individual insulin regimen and achieve good blood sugar control. In order to achieve optimal blood sugar control with intensive therapy, frequent blood sugar measurements are necessary (self-monitoring of blood sugar levels (SMBG)). Unfortunately, capillary blood sampling is not able to adequately prevent hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia affect quality of life, and hypoglycemia in particular is a major burden in living with diabetes [11]. Blood glucose testing is very time-consuming and painful and many factors must be taken into account. In addition, capillary blood glucose measurements only represent a snapshot of the current glucose level. Flash Glucose Monitoring (FGM) has been available in Germany since 2014 and is reimbursed by health insurance companies for adults and children aged 4 and over with T1D and T2D.
28.07.2020
With the Act for More Safety in the Supply of Medicines (GSAV), the legislature has, among other things, provided for the automatic substitution of biologics in pharmacies from 2022. In fact, the new regulation on automatic substitution in the GSAV paves the way for the introduction of exclusive discount agreements in the biologicals market. The current contractual practice in the biologics market is determined by health insurance companies' tenders for non-exclusive open-house contracts in accordance with Section 130a Paragraph 8 SGB V. Both manufacturers of the biological reference products and the respective biosimilars, including any imports, can agree to these contracts at the rates specified by the respective health insurance company join the specified conditions. Although interchangeability can also come into play in the context of other types of competition models, it seems obvious that the GKV side in particular is aiming for such exclusive tenders based on the model of the generics market. Against this background, published calculations by the AOK Scientific Institute (WIdO) show that a savings volume of 141 million euros was achieved through the use of biosimilars in the period from July 2017 to June 2018.
28.07.2020
Hypertension is responsible for more than seven million deaths worldwide each year, accounting for approximately 13% of all deaths [1]. In Germany, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 60% of people aged 65 and over [2]. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common chronic metabolic diseases, affecting around 7% of people in Germany [3]. DM is one of the main risk factors for hypertension [4]. Most hypertension and DM patients require drug therapy, often polypharmacotherapy, to achieve optimal blood pressure and blood glucose control [4,5]. Several classes of drugs are recommended for the treatment of hypertension [4] and DM [5]. However, adherence to these therapies is still a common problem [6, 7]. The current coronavirus pandemic is having a major impact on healthcare systems around the world. Maintaining adherence in patients with chronic diseases during a pandemic can become a major challenge for physicians and pharmacies [8]. There is a risk that good care for Covid-19 patients could negatively impact the care of around 19 million patients with hypertension [9] and over 7 million patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus [10]. To date, no studies have been published on prescriptions of antihypertensive and antidiabetic medications or patient adherence to these therapies during the pandemic. It is to be expected that people are less likely to be adherent to therapy during this time. The aim of this study was to examine the development of the number of patients who received cardiovascular or diabetic medications from pharmacies in the first quarter of 2020.