Fund patients in Germany should in the future come faster to doctor’s appointments. A law of Large coalition aims adopted by the Bundestag against the votes of the Opposition. The project is based on several points:

• Practice, doctors will have to be a minimum of 25 instead of 20 hours per week for those with statutory health insurance.
• The telephone placement of Artterminen should be greatly expanded. Since 2016, the existing appointment service should, in future, be round-the-clock by telephone, and in addition there will be an online offer. Besides specialist doctors, they are intended to convey starting from 2020 will also house and children’s doctors.
• Ophthalmologists, gynaecologists and ENT Doctors will in future have to set up per week, five hours open talk time, in the they treat patients without appointments.

For Doctors, there should be incentive for more money: When a family doctor gives his patients an urgent specialist appointment, he will receive a grant of at least ten Euro. Also, the treating specialist is getting a compensation outside of his budget, if he new patients accepts. The same is true for services that are provided in the open office hour times.

Supplement for service mediated by appointment

Physician, adopt a service-mediated appointment, you will also receive a to waiting times staggered Supplement: Comes of the appointment within a week, there is a surcharge of 50 per cent on the insured a lump sum. For a treatment in the second week there should be 30 per cent more in the third and fourth week, 20 percent. Even if you are working on the Land, to get Doctors in the future, surcharges, guaranteed.

Overall, are likely to result in the statutory health insurance funds, annual expenditures of between 600 million and 800 million euros for doctor fees.

The consumer organizations welcomed the efforts which, although warned, however, faced with new problems. Because Doctors receive for new patients additional fees, have previous patients may be at a Disadvantage. Already Insured person received private much faster appointments, said the head of the Federal Association of consumer centres, Klaus Müller. “Now between New and existing patient differences.”

Further Changes – from dentures to the “Yellow glow”

Apart from the date of renewal, the law is to improve the care of patients:

• The fixed subsidies for dentures to be by 2020 from 50 percent to 60 percent.
• Insured should, in the future, with your Smartphone or Tablet to your electronic patient record to access. This Service must offer the funds no later than 2021.
• The previous “Yellow glow”, the disability certificate, Physicians must from 2021 onwards only in digital form to the sickness insurance funds transmit.
• The so-called pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep) will be at an increased HIV risk to the performance of the statutory health insurance funds. A drug is taken that protects against infection with HIV.
• The leading Association of the Statutory health insurance (GKV) will be entrusted to the Internet search directory to midwives and their benefits to create.
• People in need of care are at the expense of the funds also offers care services within the for example, help with household chores, shopping or reading. So far, the funds only pay for services provided by care services.
• Patients should, in the future, the vaccines, from all manufacturers are available. The exclusion of certain suppliers by means of contracts will be in the future.

The chief of the techniker Krankenkasse, Jens Baas, said projects to be skeptical to Spahns. Although the law had “many positive aspects”, it will make medical care more expensive, he said the “Rheinische Post”.