In the future, patients with acute symptoms should be treated in a hospital emergency room far less frequently. Instead, those seeking help should be sent to a nearby practice on the phone or on site in the hospital or receive direct telemedical care. This is the goal of a large-scale emergency reform, for which Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented key points in Berlin.
The SPD politician explained that 25 to 30 percent of cases from emergency rooms could also be treated in doctors’ offices. Today, emergency clinics are often overcrowded – medical organizations have been complaining for years that many people come there with minor complaints, especially on weekends.
New centers with affiliated practices
The emergency rooms are to be merged into new integrated emergency centers in the future. Lauterbach announced that there should be one center for every 400,000 residents. These centers should also include an outpatient emergency service practice in the immediate vicinity. The assessment of where patients should be cared for should take place at a so-called shared counter.
At its core, the reform aims to ensure that patients are treated where it is best and quickest, said Lauterbach. “It doesn’t always have to be the hospital,” said the politician. “In many cases, emergency acute care makes much more sense.” A visit to the family doctor’s office the next day is often enough.
Connection of 116 117 and 112
The appointment service points of the statutory health insurance associations, which can be reached on 116 117, are to be expanded. They should be networked with the rescue control centers that can be reached on 112. In the future it should not matter which of the two numbers you choose. Patients should then receive an initial assessment of where they should go. For example, if an emergency patient dials 116 117, they should be able to have an ambulance sent this way.
Mild cases without doctor visits
Telemedicine should also be expanded, as Lauterbach explained. If the doctor does not consider a visit to the practice or clinic by telephone or video to be necessary, then an electronic prescription or an electronic sick note should also be able to be issued. The treatment case can then be completed without those affected having to leave the house, says Lauterbach.
The reform law should come into force in 2025
The new emergency centers should also network with the appointment service points – according to Lauterbach, this should make it possible for people to be offered appointments for further treatment there. Overall, a “major reform” is planned with “incredibly great potential to save money and at the same time improve care.” It should be launched in the federal cabinet in the first half of the year and apply from the beginning of 2025.
