Noch nie so hochgeschätzt – das Gesundheitssystem in der Pandemie – Soziale Differenzierung: Betroffenheit, Versorgung und Gesundheitspolitik

Das deutsche Versorgungssystem hat die Pandemie bisher relativ gut bewältigt, ohne dass es zu neuen Ungerechtigkeiten gekommen wäre. Die Anstrengungen zur Prävention und Eindämmung der Infektionen sind dagegen weniger erfolgreich. Zielgerichtete Maßnahmen hätten schwere Krankheitsverläufe und Todesfälle in den Risikogruppen besser reduzieren können. Die politische Steuerung der Maßnahmen und ihre Kommunikation sind verbesserungsbedürftig. Ihre Informationsbasis ist (oft selbstverschuldet) ebenso unzureichend wie ihre unklare und widersprüchliche Zielbestimmung. Das Pandemiemanagement zeigt einerseits gravierende Mängel des öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (public health system) und seiner Vorbereitung auf kritische Entwicklungen (Schutzausrüstungen, Meldewesen). Andererseits bestätigt sich in vielen Fällen der bekannte Reformbedarf des Versorgungssystems (Rückstand der Digitalisierung, Stärkung der Krankenhäuser durch Zentralisierung etc.). Abstract: Never so Highly Valued – The Health System in the Pandemic – Social Differentiation: Concern, Care and Health Policy The German health care system has managed the pandemic relatively well so far, without new discriminations. However, efforts to prevent and contain infections are less successful. Targeted measures would have been better able to reduce severe disease progression and deaths in the risk groups. The political control of the measures and their communication need to be improved. Their information base is (often self-inflicted) just as inadequate as their unclear and contradictory objectives. On the one hand, the pandemic management shows serious shortcomings of the public health system and its preparation for critical developments (protective equipment, reporting). On the other hand, in many cases the well-known need for reform of the care system is confirmed (backlog of digitalization, strengthening of hospitals by centralization, etc.).

Are persons with a limited health literacy less satisfied with the German health care system?

Background Health literacy (HL) is the ability to find, understand, appraise and apply health information with the aim of using this information to make decisions affecting the own health. Previous studies showed limited HL in around 50% of the German population. The assessment of the German health care system from the perspective of persons with limited HL is subject of this study. Methods In 2018, a survey was conducted among 20,000 persons with private health insurance in Germany. Survey items were based on the intermediate and final goals of the WHO Health Systems Framework. Questions comprised, for example, satisfaction with the health care system, responsiveness (e.g. perceived discrimination), access (e.g. off-hour care), and safety (e.g. medical errors). HL was assessed with the HLS-EU-Q16 questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used to analyze the data and group differences. Results Overall, 3,601 participants (18.0%) completed the survey (58.6 years ± 14.6; 64.6% male). Limited HL was seen with 44.6% (8.5% inadequate & 36.1% problematic), whereas 55.4% did not report limited HL (43.4% sufficient & 12.0% excellent). Very satisfied with the German health care system were 6.5% of the persons with limited HL (vs. 14.3%). Perceived discrimination within the last 12 months was reported by 11.0% of the persons with limited HL (vs. 5.1%). To get medical care on weekends, holidays or evenings outside hospitals was rated as “very hard” by 34.6% of the persons with limited HL (vs. 23.6%). The feeling that they experienced medical errors was reported by 18.7% with limited HL (vs. 11.5%) and 5.9% were unsure (vs. 2.2%). All results were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusions Persons with limited HL were less satisfied with the overall German health care system in comparison to persons with not limited HL and reported more often perceived discrimination. Strengthening HL could help to improve satisfaction with the health care system. Key messages Limited HL among persons with private health insurance in Germany was found in 44.6% of the survey’s participants. Persons with limited HL indicated to be less satisfied with the German health care system and perceived more often discrimination in their health care.

Measuring efficiency of the German health care system from the population perspective

Background Human and financial resources in health care systems are limited and require efficient use. Efficiency is one of the final goals of the WHO Health Systems Framework but measuring efficiency and finding room for improvement is complex; a rarely used approach is the assessment from the population perspective. This study aims to analyse, if inefficiencies in the German health care system are present and can be identified by the population. Methods In 2018, a survey was conducted with a random sample of 20,000 insured persons of a German private health insurance (PHI) company. Three aspects of efficiency were operationalized in the questionnaire: self-reported duplicate tests, prescription of unnecessary health services, and adequacy of insurance premiums. Results are based on descriptive analyses. Results In total, 3,601 respondents (age 58.9 ± 14.5; 64.9% male) were included (18.0%) in the analyses. Efficiency was rated as follows: 20% of respondents experienced duplicate tests due to a lack of coordination between physicians. This rate was even higher (38%) among those who perceived (very) poor/fair coordination. Unnecessary services (self-assessed) were prescribed to 22% of all respondents and was 50% among patients who experienced that physicians' consultations and treatments were led by motives other than the patients' wellbeing. A total of 33% rated their premiums as (too) high, 63% as fair and 4% as (very) low with differences according to income, sex and health status. Conclusions From a population perspective, the German health care system has the potential to be more efficient e.g. by reducing duplicate tests. Patients with PHI experience unnecessary services and duplicate tests, which put a strain on both, the already limited financial and personnel resources on a macro level, and the level of the individual PHI premium. Key messages Patients perceived tests or services as unnecessary, and hence, can detect inefficiencies of a health care system. Efficiency can be improved e.g. by a better coordination of care between health care providers.

Digitization in the German Health Care System - An Analysis of the Status Quo Using the Example of the Dental Sector

According to the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, the German healthcare industry is growing faster than the economy as a whole but is regularly far behind compared to the rate of digitalization. Nonetheless, the healthcare industry offers great potential for digital applications. The brief overview at hand uses the example of treatment and cost plans in the dental field to illustrate the state of digitalization in the German health care system. The primary goal is to examine whether it is possible to transfer the principle of electronic data medium exchange for hospital settlements and the associated electronic data processing to the transmission of treatment and cost plans in the dental field. Anselstetter's (1984) expertise is fundamentally used to evaluate the benefits of electronic data processing and to a treatment and cost plan under critical evaluation. In order to determine relevant benefit effects for health insurance funds and dentists, a transfer and processing form of the treatment and cost plan is used based on a generated model. Applying this model can assist health insurance funds to identify effects regarding time, personnel reduction, and more efficient use of existing personnel structures. It also provides health insurance companies and dentists with an overview of the possible benefits of electronic data transmission and processing. Nonetheless, one of the problems is that it is not possible to calculate the expected costs due to the lack of empirical examinations. Consequently, a detailed cost- benefit evaluation of an electronic transmission and processing of the treatment and cost plans is unfeasible.

Clinical genetic testing and counselling in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are phenotypically as well as genetically heterogeneous developmental disorders with a strong heritability. Clinical and basic science research has described many replicated genetic risk factors. Many findings can well be translated into clinical human genetic practice. The current article summarizes results of genetic studies in ASD, provides a diagnostic algorithm for the clinical human genetic work-up reflecting the German health care system options and gives information with regard to the obligatory genetic counselling after a clinical genetic assessment.

Effect of Various Invitation Schemes on the Use of Fecal Immunochemical Tests for Colorectal Cancer Screening: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Fecal occult blood testing has been offered for many years in the German health care system, but participation rates have been notoriously low. Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of various personal invitation schemes on the use of fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) in persons aged 50-54 years. Methods This study consists of a three-armed randomized controlled trial: (1) arm A: an invitation letter from a health insurance plan including a FIT test kit, (2) arm B: an invitation letter from a health insurance plan including an offer to receive a free FIT test kit by mail upon easy-to-handle request (ie, by internet, fax, or reply mail), and (3) arm C: an information letter on an existing colonoscopy offer (ie, control). Within arms A and B, a random selection of 50% of the study population will receive reminder letters, the effects of which are to be evaluated in a substudy. Results A total of 17,532 persons aged 50-54 years in a statutory health insurance plan in the southwest of Germany—AOK Baden-Wuerttemberg—were sent an initial invitation, and 5825 reminder letters were sent out. The primary end point is FIT usage within 1 year from receipt of invitation or information letter. The main secondary end points include gender-specific FIT usage within 1 year, rates of positive test results, rates of colonoscopies following a positive test result, and detection rates of advanced neoplasms. The study was launched in September 2017. Data collection and workup were completed in fall 2019. Conclusions This randomized controlled trial will provide important empirical evidence for enhancing colorectal cancer screening offers in the German health care system. Trial Registration German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) DRKS00011858; https://bit.ly/2UBTIdt International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/16413

Rechtsfragen der Ressourcenzuteilung in der COVID-19-Pandemie – Zwischen Utilitarismus und Lebenswertindifferenz

The COVID-19 pandemic poses unprecedented challenges for the German health care system. What is already the case in some other countries, may occur in Germany in the near future also: Faced with limited ICU resources, doctors will be forced to decide which patients to treat and which to let die. This paper examines the legal implications of such decisions. It takes up arguments from the general discussion on prioritization in medicine. A constitutional hurdle for the application of utilitarian criteria (in particular patients’ age or social role) comes from the principle that every human life is of equal value and must not be traded off against others (“life value indifference”). However, the limits that the Grundgesetz (German Basic Law) sets for state actions do not apply directly to doctors. According to the Musterberufsordnung (professional code of conduct), doctors act based on their conscience and the requirements of medical ethics and humanity. The implications of this normative standard for the prioritizing in an exceptional situation as the COVID 19 pandemic have not been sufficiently clarified. This uncertainty leads to emotional and moral burdens for doctors. The authors conclude that the German law grants a limited freedom of choice that allows physicians to apply utilitarian criteria in addition to purely medical decision algorithms.

Digitalizing Health Services by Implementing a Personal Electronic Health Record in Germany: Qualitative Analysis of Fundamental Prerequisites From the Perspective of Selected Experts

Background The implementation of a personal electronic health record (PHR) is a central objective of digitalization policies in the German health care system. Corresponding legislation was passed with the 2015 Act for Secure Digital Communication and Applications in the Health Sector (eHealth Act). However, compared with other European countries, Germany still lags behind concerning the implementation of a PHR. Objective In order to explore potential barriers and facilitators for the adoption of a PHR in routine health care in Germany, this paper aims to identify policies, structures, and practices of the German health care system that influence the uptake and use of a PHR. Methods A total of 33 semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of experts: 23 interviews with different health care professionals and 10 interviews with key actors of the German health care system who were telematics, eHealth, and information technology experts (eHealth experts). The interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to a content analysis. Results From the expert perspective, a PHR was basically considered desirable and unavoidable. At the same time, a number of challenges for implementation in Germany have been outlined. Three crucial themes emerged: (1) documentation standards: prevailing processes of the analog bureaucratic paper world, (2) interoperability: the plurality of actors and electronic systems, and (3) political structure: the lack of clear political regulations and political incentive structures. Conclusions With regard to the implementation of a PHR, an important precondition of a successful digitalization will be the precedent reform of the system to be digitized. Whether the recently passed Act for Faster Appointments and Better Care will be a step in the right direction remains to be seen.