The federal government has agreed on a reform of emergency care. According to the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (Wednesday edition), the draft law, presented by Federal Health Minister Nina Warkentin (CDU) and scheduled for passage by the federal cabinet this Wednesday, proposes several changes. These include implementing a standardized initial assessment via phone or video call, and improving cooperation between ambulance and out-of-hours medical services under the phone numbers 112 and 116117.
The reform also aims to enhance cooperation between both inpatient and outpatient support services. Specifically, there are plans for the nationwide creation of new “Integrated Emergency Centers”. These centers will combine hospital emergency rooms, emergency practice clinics managed by the associations of statutory health insurance physicians, and a joint initial assessment desk. Furthermore, ambulance services, which are subordinate to the federal states and municipalities, are expected to receive funding even when they are not transporting patients to hospitals.
Warkentin’s emergency care reform is projected to save between one and two billion euros annually. The newspaper reports that agreement on the reform exists among the governing coalition parties. Sebelumnya, both Warkentin’s predecessor, Jens Spahn (CDU), and Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had encountered difficulties with their respective proposed reforms.
