“THE BUREAUCRATIC MADNESS MUST STOP!â€
Munich / Munster /Berlin – The Board of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV), describes the health service in Bavaria, Germany, as an “over-regulated system that because of its complexity, leaves little room for a proper reformâ€. This statement is referring to a study conducted by the consulting firm AT Kearney, underlining the fact that nearly a quarter of the 176 billion euros in total expenditure of the statutory health insurance are due to bureaucratic procedures.
Simply by reducing bureaucracy, around 13 billion euros could be saved. “The study indicates that: Not the patient care is the cost driver, but the documentation and administration of supplies are,†said the CEO of KV, Wolfgang Krombholz.
If the health insurance houses put the blame on the doctors and psychotherapists, and hold them responsible for the high healthcare costs in the making, they should take a step back and realize that they themselves and the political conditions determined the daily work in the practices.
Criticism also came from the Medical Association of Westfalen-Lippe: “The bureaucratic madness in our health system has blocked in many places the medical care of the patients,†said the president, Theodor Windhorst.
It is urgently necessary to reduce the excessive bureaucracy in the hospitals and clinics, “the bureaucratic madness must stopâ€, said Windhorst. It can’t be accepted that doctors in hospitals have to dedicate a third of their time on administrative tasks. Even the resident doctors should be relieved of unnecessary paperwork and documentation.
It is also important to keep in mind the perspective of the young doctors. “Young doctors don’t want to fill out any forms, they want to help and heal patients. Their jobs are not at a desk, but at the bedside,†said the President of the Westphalian doctors.
How is it in your country? Is the bureaucracy keeping you away from your patients? In your vision, what should change?
Source of the article here:Â http://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/48606/Aerzte_fordern_Abbau_von_Buerokratie_im_Gesundheitswesen.htm
