Warken announces the family doctor principle: increasing efficiency in the healthcare system!

Warken announces the family doctor principle: increasing efficiency in the healthcare system!

Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) presented a comprehensive reform plan for the German health system at the 129th Doctors' Day in Leipzig. The focus is on introducing a family doctor principle that aims to increase the efficiency of medical care. Warken announced that general practitioner practices should in future take over arranging appointments with specialists. This should help to avoid double examinations and significantly shorten waiting times for specialist visits. Deutschlandfunk reports that these measures should serve both the targeted use of budget resources and a more efficient design of the health system.

Klaus Reinhardt, President of the German Medical Association, signaled support for the planned reforms in his speech, but also expressed concerns about the challenges posed by the current healthcare system. The new approach will also discuss how artificial intelligence can be used in medical care, which is another facet of the negotiations during the Doctors' Day. The event lasts until Friday, with doctors dealing intensively with the various aspects of the reform.

Family doctor-centered care: An overview

As part of the family doctor principle, statutory health insurance companies are obliged to offer family doctor-centered care. Patients must undertake to only visit their chosen family doctor and, in most cases, to consult them first before they are allowed to see a specialist. Exceptions apply, for example, to ophthalmologists, gynecologists and pediatricians, who can be consulted directly. The Federal Ministry of Health explains, that health insurance companies must offer special family doctor tariffs and that discounts such as premium payments or co-payment reductions are possible for patients who first seek treatment from their family doctor.

The reform aims to improve the organization of medical care without creating additional burdens for those insured. However, this argument is questioned by the German Patient Protection Foundation. The foundation expresses concerns about possible overloading of general practitioners' practices and the availability of contracted doctors. According to a survey, two thirds of the population are critical of the new concept. Tagesschau reports that there are similarities to the previous practice fee, which was charged from 2004 to 2012.

The discussion about the design of the family doctor principle will be the focus at the German Doctors' Day in Leipzig, where both supporters and skeptics will present their positions. However, the concrete implementation of the new system remains unclear and requires careful consideration of the various interests in the healthcare system.