The Bundestag has initiated a reform of emergency medical care. The government’s draft law was approved on Thursday by the coalition parties and the Green Party, while Die Linke and the AfD decided to abstain from voting.
The objective of this law is to ensure more effective provision of care for patients experiencing acute and emergency situations. The focus is particularly on better coordination among the three respective care fields: contractual physician emergency services, hospital emergency departments, and ambulance services. Furthermore, the nationwide function of the 116117 number provided by the associations of statutory health insurance physicians is set to be expanded.
Moving forward, digitally networked Integrated Emergency Centers (INZ) are intended to guarantee general availability for initial outpatient care. Each INZ will comprise a hospital emergency room, an emergency practice associated with the doctors’ association (KV-Notdienstpraxis), and a central initial assessment point. This assessment point will be responsible for coordinating and managing patient pathways.
