SURVEY: GP-2025/5: APS

The premature end of the traffic light coalition has significant implications for the planned healthcare reforms in Germany. It is expected that the laws initiated by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach will not be passed as a whole, but that individual measures from the respective draft laws can be implemented.

The Act to Strengthen Healthcare Supply (GVSG) will certainly be significantly amended. However, the abolition of budgets for general practitioners could be passed as a standalone measure, as it enjoys broad support among the medical profession and improves access to primary care. Funding the establishment of medical care centers with cross-sectoral care models could also be passed as a standalone measure, as it improves primary care, which is relatively uncontroversial.

The E-Health Act also offers potential for individual measures. This concerns, on the one hand, the creation of technical standards for digital health applications and electronic patient records, and, on the other hand, the promotion of AI applications in healthcare, as digitalization is a clear priority and these points are practical and forward-looking.

The Nursing Competence Act will come into force. A severe nursing shortage requires changes and decisions. Economic conflicts of interest stand in the way. Nevertheless, reforming this service area is essential. Expanding the skills of nurses by promoting the academicization of nursing can be adopted as a promising individual measure.

The emergency services are already undergoing a transformation even without the Emergency Services Reform Act. The introduction of portal practices as central contact points and the digitalization of emergency processes could be implemented independently of the Emergency Services Reform Act. These measures represent a significant improvement in emergency care that appears urgently needed and is politically easy to justify.

There will be no truly sensible decisions regarding the Bureaucracy Reduction Act at the moment; the "thing" is hyper-political and currently dead. Nevertheless, reducing bureaucracy is a cross-cutting issue and desired by all parties involved, so that the abolition of multiple documentation with a simplification of documentation requirements and the digitalization of billing systems with the introduction of standardized digital systems would be logical individual building blocks.

Ensuring the supply of pharmaceuticals is an urgent problem that must be addressed independently of other reforms. Measures to ensure supply in rural areas should also be decided on now in isolation. The success of the law will depend on how well it succeeds in reconciling the needs of all stakeholders – from patients to pharmacies to pharmaceutical companies. Pharmacists will continue to play a central role in the healthcare system in the future: Personal advice and support from pharmacists will remain indispensable, especially when it comes to complex or safety-related pharmaceutical issues. Mail-order pharmacies and discount stores will become indispensable as complementary distribution channels, especially since they are already established in other European countries. However, the safe supply of pharmaceuticals to patients must not be lost sight of. The planned Pharmacy Reform Act requires realistic implementation strategies, sufficient financial resources, and close monitoring to avoid negative impacts such as regional supply deficits.

Although the draft of the "Healthy Heart Act" (GHG) has been passed by the Federal Cabinet, it is still in committee deliberations, so it remains to be seen in what final form the law will be passed and when it will actually come into force. However, prevention is widely accepted and can quickly bring health benefits, so swift passage and implementation of the law can be expected.

A consistent focus on patient safety is essential for legislation to create a healthcare system that both meets the individual needs of patients and is able to address social and economic challenges. Measures to promote patient safety reduce the long-term costs of preventable complications, hospital stays, and litigation. Expertise from medicine, nursing, health sciences, and patient advocacy groups should be incorporated into the development of legislation, and existing regulations should be regularly reviewed and adjusted for their impact on patient safety.