How Germany plans to ease pressure on emergency rooms

Federal Minister of Health, Nina Warken, has announced her proposal to reduce the number of patients in German emergency rooms by 1,2 million. The reform is said to save more than 1 billion euros in healthcare spending in the long run.

Reforming German ERs: Fewer patients, higher salaries, less spending

Emergency rooms in Germany treat approximately 13 million patients annually. Hospitals and emergency care units in the country have been strained for years, reports ntv.

Warkens states the goal of the reforms is “creating uniform and equal opportunities for all seeking emergency treatment”. Her strategy consists of three steps to ease pressure on healthcare providers. 

The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians would be forced to offer online and at-home consultations, even in acute cases, rather than admitting patients immediately.

Hospitals would be encouraged to establish emergency centres in collaboration with emergency practitioners to ensure access to appropriate treatment at all times. Those centres would care for more patients than conventional emergency rooms, who would then be released sooner without being admitted to the hospital itself. Healthcare staff at the centres would then be allowed to prescribe medicine according to patients' needs.

Warken is also planning a wage reform for ambulance drivers and paramedics. Rather than just being compensated for transporting patients to the hospital, they would be paid to provide on-site care, preventing unnecessary hospital admissions for patients who only require minimal aid. This would be financed through health insurance providers. 

German gov’t is reducing health care spending

According to the proposal, the new measures would save more than 200 million euros in 2027. In 2028, this number is expected to increase to 650 million, while a total of 1,1 billion in savings is expected by 2030.

Warken’s proposal comes at a time when healthcare is widely debated in Germany. Earlier this year, the German government announced its plan to reduce healthcare spending, including measures such as ending insurance coverage for non-contributing dependents, higher co-payments, reduced statutory sick pay, and scrapping additional services.