Altered Hospital Environment: Redesigning the Hospital Sphere
Berlin is set to undergo a significant hospital reform aimed at streamlining services, improving quality of care, and ensuring financial sustainability. The proposed changes, which have been outlined in the 2021–2025 coalition agreement, focus on the creation of regional health networks and reducing parallel structures within hospitals.
The reform includes several key elements. Firstly, the establishment of hospital planning standards based on service groups and care levels, taking into account accessibility and demographic trends. This move is intended to safeguard and improve quality of care while reducing administrative burdens.
Secondly, the transition from the current case-by-case payment system to fixed-rate payments for essential clinics. This shift aims to prevent financial strain on hospitals and avoid closures, particularly in rural areas.
Thirdly, the promotion of regional short-stay units and the reduction of traditional hospital bed reliance. These units serve as alternatives to traditional inpatient care, particularly for elderly and multimorbid patients, helping ease emergency room overcrowding and making care more accessible and efficient.
Fourthly, the integration of care through regional networks to avoid costly and time-consuming processes caused by rigid sector boundaries, optimising medical and nursing resources utilisation.
The introduction of a primary doctor system is also part of the broader healthcare transformation. Though this aims to improve care coordination and reduce duplicate examinations, it is viewed as a longer-term process requiring careful implementation.
The reform is supported by the Federal Ministry of Health, with the intention of creating a needs-based and affordable healthcare system across urban and rural areas.
Gerald Gaß, president of the German Hospital Association, will propose this reform of the clinic landscape at a hospital summit in Berlin scheduled for Wednesday. Gaß predicts that in five to ten years, there will be fewer hospital beds and fewer hospitals due to the reform.
The maxim of the reform is "more cooperation, less competition" in hospitals. The clinics under the proposed reform will operate in regional health networks, with providers working closely together. The hospital locations under the reform will be politically responsible and determined based on necessary specialties and population density.
The population and employees must be transparently informed about the reform. The summit will include a meeting with Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU). Gaß has expressed his support for this structural reform, stating that it is essential for a sustainable and efficient healthcare system in Berlin.
The science of healthcare in Berlin is undergoing a transformative period, with policies and legislation focusing on the establishment of regional health networks, the integration of care, and the creation of a needs-based and affordable healthcare system. The reform involves the promotion of short-stay units, transition from case-by-case to fixed-rate payments, and the introduction of a primary doctor system to improve care coordination. The general news highlights the prediction of fewer hospital beds and hospitals in the future, as outlined by President Gerald Gaß of the German Hospital Association, who will propose this reform at the upcoming hospital summit in Berlin. This reform emphasizes cooperation over competition among clinics, with political decisions on hospital locations based on necessary specialties and population density. All stakeholders, including the population and employees, must be transparently informed about the changes.
