Lauterbach: East well prepared for hospital reform

Dresden (dpa/sn) - Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) believes the eastern German states are well equipped for the hospital reform. They have already modernised their hospital structures, he said in a statement on Monday after a video conference with the heads of the eastern German governments. This gives hospitals a secure economic basis even in structurally weak areas, even with falling case numbers. In outpatient care, the new primary care centres and municipal medical care centres are good alternatives to a rigid distinction between outpatient and inpatient care.

According to Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU), there is agreement that the consolidation of the hospital landscape in the east since the 1990s must be taken into account in the reform. The aim is to strengthen cross-sectoral care, to enshrine this in law and to establish a suitable remuneration system. Planning for the outpatient and inpatient sectors should be more closely linked.

Article in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" from 13 November 2023