The well-being of patients is not always in first place in German hospitals after a new study. Nationwide, for cost reasons, patients would be treated in hospitals without medical reasons, says Karl-Heinz Wehkamp from Socium Research centre of University of Bremen: “The system is at expense of patients and at expense of medicine.” According to professor, hospital staff is also under enormous pressure.
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For ir self-financed study, Wehkamp and Heinz Naegler from Berlin surveyed about 60 doctors and directors from hospitals in twelve federal states. You want to publish your approximately 250 page-length report in December as a book.
According to analysis, medical decisions are influenced by business management requirements. In interviews and discussions, physicians and directors stated that decisions on admission, treatment and dismissal of a patient would often be different without cost pressure. Thus, for example, doctors offer more profitable treatment methods. In case of personnel, labour consolidation is responsible for health risks.
“It is appalling that politics does not want to take note of this,” said Wehkamp, looking at alarming conditions in many hospitals. “With this shortfall in basic funding, you can make a very difficult profit even with a reasonably decent personnel policy.”
