MEDICAL CARE: THE BURDEN OF RED TAPE HAS INCREASED SLIGHTLY IN PRACTICES
The burden of red tape in medical practices across Germany has increased slightly this year compared to last year, but 0.2 per cent.
BERLIN. Currently, registered doctors spend 54.16 million working hours a year on administrative tasks. This represents a rise of 0.2 per cent or around 115,000 working hours more in medical practices compared to 2016, according to the current bureaucracy index. The KVB has today presented these findings together with the University of Applied Sciences for Medium-Sized Companies in Berlin.
Last year, the KVB was able to report a reduction in red tape by just under five per cent. One trigger for the further slight increase is the prescribing of patient transport, which has risen by ten per cent, to some 51 million cases a year.
KBV Board Member Dr Thomas Kriedel stressed at the press conference that this year, for example, a significant reduction in red tape had nevertheless been achieved through simplified certification processes for people with long-term conditions. The reduction of red tape, however, often remains an insurmountable task. Work may be reduced in one area, but another burden appears in another.
Based on this year's bureaucracy index, the KBV has formulated a series of calls to reduce red tape across Germany. "Our aim of a 25 per cent reduction in red tape needs to be anchored in law", said Kriedel. With a corresponding reduction in the amount of administration work they have to do, contracted doctors and psychotherapists would be able to spend an additional 13 million hours on treating their patients.
The main sources of bureaucracy in medical practices are prescriptions and insurance company enquiries, said Dr Volker Wittberg from the University of Applied Sciences for Medium-Sized Companies, summarising the results of the survey. To assess the amount of time spent on red tape, the specifications of the Federal Joint Committee and the Federal Master Treaty are generally used, not those of the federal laws. (af)
