How will new reforms affect the Hausarzt system in Germany?

Germany’s coalition government has announced plans to restructure the country’s healthcare system so that GPs (Hausärzte) are always the first port of call for patients. Medical professionals are divided on whether it is the right move.

GPs to take more prominent role in German healthcare

Germany’s new, CDU/CSU-SPD government has announced plans to restructure the country’s healthcare system, so that a patient’s local Hausarzt is their first point of call for medical advice.

Since 2009, anyone with health insurance in Germany has been able to book an appointment directly with a specialist. For example, if you suspected you had an ear infection, you could book an appointment directly with the nearest ENT doctor.

Under the new plan, patients will have to visit their Hausarzt first, who will make an assessment if they need to be referred to a specialist, and if so, which kind of specialist. Though further details of the new system are still to be ironed out, the coalition government hope it will free up appointments at specialist clinics.

Critics warn that Hausärzte will be more overwhelmed

With Germany’s healthcare system already facing staff shortages and high demand from patients, critics aren’t so sure the changes are a good idea.

“It will mean that we will just have to wait twice, once for an appointment at the GP and again for an appointment with a specialist,” Eugen Brysch, representative of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, told public broadcaster rbb. Brysch added that, in Berlin and Brandenburg specifically, Hausarzt practices are so overwhelmed that many no longer accept new patients. 

“It means that Hausärzte would have to take care of twice as many patients as they currently are,” Andreas Gassen of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung) told the same broadcaster.

Berlin-Brandenburg GPs approve of coalition’s plan

In contrast, the Berlin-Brandenburg branch of Germany’s Association of GPs (BDA) has welcomed the proposed changes. The organisation argues that the current system has gotten out of hand, since high-frequency specialist treatments are more expensive and prolong waiting times. 

“We have long been fighting for primary care to find its way,” BDA representative Doris Höpner told the broadcaster, arguing that medical care is of higher quality when patients are treated holistically by GPs, rather than by specialists on a one-off basis.