scholarly journals Digitization in the German Health Care System - An Analysis of the Status Quo Using the Example of the Dental Sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Maier ◽  
Tizian Juschkat
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Data Processing ◽  
Healthcare Industry ◽  
Electronic Data ◽  
German Health Care System ◽  
German Health ◽  
Insurance Funds ◽  
Health Insurance Funds ◽  
Cost Plan

According to the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, the German healthcare industry is growing faster than the economy as a whole but is regularly far behind compared to the rate of digitalization. Nonetheless, the healthcare industry offers great potential for digital applications. The brief overview at hand uses the example of treatment and cost plans in the dental field to illustrate the state of digitalization in the German health care system. The primary goal is to examine whether it is possible to transfer the principle of electronic data medium exchange for hospital settlements and the associated electronic data processing to the transmission of treatment and cost plans in the dental field. Anselstetter's (1984) expertise is fundamentally used to evaluate the benefits of electronic data processing and to a treatment and cost plan under critical evaluation. In order to determine relevant benefit effects for health insurance funds and dentists, a transfer and processing form of the treatment and cost plan is used based on a generated model. Applying this model can assist health insurance funds to identify effects regarding time, personnel reduction, and more efficient use of existing personnel structures. It also provides health insurance companies and dentists with an overview of the possible benefits of electronic data transmission and processing. Nonetheless, one of the problems is that it is not possible to calculate the expected costs due to the lack of empirical examinations. Consequently, a detailed cost- benefit evaluation of an electronic transmission and processing of the treatment and cost plans is unfeasible.

Back to the future: Polish health care reform

2003 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 385-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Filinson ◽  
Piotr Chmielewski ◽  
Darek Niklas
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Universal Health Insurance ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Insurance Funds ◽  
Physician Resistance ◽  
Polish Government ◽  
Health Insurance Funds ◽  
Universal Health

In January 1999, the Polish government implemented a new law reorganizing the health care in the country. This paper includes an outline of the changes, the main impact of which consisted of introduction of universal health insurance administered by Health Insurance Funds (‘‘Kasy Chorych’’). In June 2001 and 2002, a survey of insurance administrators and health care workers provided data concerning the reception of the new system, the perceived inadequacies, and the postulated changes. The intended objective of privatization of health provisions appears as remote as it was before the changes. The major obstacles are identified as political hurdles, physician resistance, and continued dependence on state allocations.

scholarly journals What Are the Potential Advantages and Disadvantages of Merging Health Insurance Funds? A Qualitative Policy Analysis from Iran

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Bazyar ◽  
Vahid Yazdi-Feyzabadi ◽  
Nouroddin Rahimi ◽  
Arash Rashidian
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Care Expenditures ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Insurance Funds ◽  
Rich Data ◽  
Health Insurance Funds

Abstract Background:In countries with health insurance systems, the number and size of insurance funds along with the amount of risk distribution among them are a major concern. One possible solution to overcome problems resulting from fragmentation is to combine risk pools to create a single pool. This study aimed to investigate the potential advantages and disadvantages of merging health insurance funds in Iran. Methods:In this qualitative study, a purposeful sampling with maximum variation was used to obtain representativeness and rich data. To this end, sixty-seven face-to-face interviews were conducted. Moreover, a documentary review was used as a supplementary source of data collection. Content analysis using the 'framework method' was used to analyze the data. Four trustworthiness criteria, including credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability, were used to assure the quality of results. Results:The potential consequences were grouped into seven categories, including stewardship, financing, population, benefit package, structure, operational procedures, and interaction with providers. According to the interviewees, controlling total health care expenditures; improving strategic purchasing; removing duplication in population coverage; centralizing the profile of providers in a single database; controlling the volume of provided health care services; making hospitals interact with single insurance with a single set of instructions for contracting, claiming review, and reimbursement; and reducing administrative costs were among the main benefits of merging health insurance funds. The interviewees enumerated the following drawbacks as well: the social security organization’s unwillingness to collect insurance premiums from private workers actively as before; increased dissatisfaction among population groups enjoying a generous basic benefits package; risk of financial fraud and corruption due to gathering all premiums in a single bank; and risk of putting more financial pressure on providers in case of delay in reimbursement with a single-payer system. Conclusion:Merging health insurance schemes in Iran is influenced by a wide range of potential merits and drawbacks. Thus, to facilitate the process and lessen opponents’ objection, policy makers should act as brokers by taking into account contextual factors and adopting tailored policies to respectively maximize and minimize the potential benefits and drawbacks of consolidation in Iran.

scholarly journals Are persons with a limited health literacy less satisfied with the German health care system?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
K Achstetter ◽  
J Köppen ◽  
M Blümel ◽  
R Busse
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Care System ◽  
Medical Errors ◽  
Private Health Insurance ◽  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
German Health Care System ◽  
German Health ◽  
Care System

Abstract Background Health literacy (HL) is the ability to find, understand, appraise and apply health information with the aim of using this information to make decisions affecting the own health. Previous studies showed limited HL in around 50% of the German population. The assessment of the German health care system from the perspective of persons with limited HL is subject of this study. Methods In 2018, a survey was conducted among 20,000 persons with private health insurance in Germany. Survey items were based on the intermediate and final goals of the WHO Health Systems Framework. Questions comprised, for example, satisfaction with the health care system, responsiveness (e.g. perceived discrimination), access (e.g. off-hour care), and safety (e.g. medical errors). HL was assessed with the HLS-EU-Q16 questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used to analyze the data and group differences. Results Overall, 3,601 participants (18.0%) completed the survey (58.6 years ± 14.6; 64.6% male). Limited HL was seen with 44.6% (8.5% inadequate & 36.1% problematic), whereas 55.4% did not report limited HL (43.4% sufficient & 12.0% excellent). Very satisfied with the German health care system were 6.5% of the persons with limited HL (vs. 14.3%). Perceived discrimination within the last 12 months was reported by 11.0% of the persons with limited HL (vs. 5.1%). To get medical care on weekends, holidays or evenings outside hospitals was rated as “very hard” by 34.6% of the persons with limited HL (vs. 23.6%). The feeling that they experienced medical errors was reported by 18.7% with limited HL (vs. 11.5%) and 5.9% were unsure (vs. 2.2%). All results were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusions Persons with limited HL were less satisfied with the overall German health care system in comparison to persons with not limited HL and reported more often perceived discrimination. Strengthening HL could help to improve satisfaction with the health care system. Key messages Limited HL among persons with private health insurance in Germany was found in 44.6% of the survey’s participants. Persons with limited HL indicated to be less satisfied with the German health care system and perceived more often discrimination in their health care.

scholarly journals What Kinds of Advantages and Disadvantages Is May Merging Health Insurance Funds Bring About? A Qualitative Policy Analysis from Iran

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Bazyar ◽  
Vahid Yazdi-Feyzabadi ◽  
Nouroddin Rahimi ◽  
Arash Rashidian
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Financing ◽  
Health Care Expenditures ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Insurance Funds ◽  
Health Insurance Funds

Abstract Background: Fragmentation in health insurance system is a major concern in health financing. One possible solution to overcome problems resulting from fragmentation is combining risk pools together. This study aims to realize the potential advantages and disadvantages of merging health insurance funds. Methods: In this qualitative study, a purposeful sampling with maximum variation was used to obtain representativeness and rich data. Sixty face-to-face interviews were conducted. The documentary review was used as a supplementary source of data collection. Content analysis using the 'framework method' was used to analyze the qualitative data. Results: The results of this study indicated that there are diverse positive and negative consequences for merging health insurance funds in Iran. These are categorized into seven categories, including governance/stewardship, financing, population, basic benefit package, structure, operational procedures, and interaction with providers. Control of total health care expenditures; improving strategic purchasing; removing duplication in population coverage; centralizing the profile of providers in a single database and reducing fraud and controlling the volume of health care services provided by the providers; interaction of hospitals with single insurance with a single set of instructions for contracting, claiming review and reimbursement; reducing administrative and overhead costs were among the main benefits of merging mentioned by interviewees. The following drawbacks were raised as well: the unwillingness of the social security organization to collect insurance premiums from private workers actively as before; increasing dissatisfaction among population groups enjoying generous basic benefits package at the current situation; risk of financial fraud and corruption due to gathering all premiums in a single bank; and risk of putting more financial pressure on the providers in case of delay in reimbursement by the single-payer. Conclusions: Implementation of merging health insurance schemes in Iran would be influenced by a wide range of potential merits and drawbacks. Thus, to facilitate the process and lessen the opposition of opponents, policy makers should act as brokers taking into account the contextual factors and adopting tailored policies to maximize the benefits and minimize the potential drawbacks of consolidation in Iran.

scholarly journals The experiences of merging health insurance funds in South Korea, Turkey, Thailand, and Indonesia: a cross-country comparative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Bazyar ◽  
Vahid Yazdi-Feyzabadi ◽  
Arash Rashidian ◽  
Anahita Behzadi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Benefit Package ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Insurance Funds ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Health Insurance Funds

Abstract Background Fragmentation in health insurance system may lead to inequity in financial access to and utilization of health care services. One possible option to overcome this challenge is merging the existing health insurance funds together. This article aims to review and compare the experience of South Korea, Turkey, Thailand and Indonesia regarding merging their health insurance funds. Methods This was a cross-country comparative study. The countries of the study were selected purposefully based on the availability of data to review their experience regarding merging health insurance funds. To find the most relevant documents about the subject, different sources of information including books, scientific papers, dissertations, reports, and policy documents were studied. Research databases including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Direct and ProQuest were used to find relevant articles. Documents released by international organizations such as WHO and World Bank were analyzed as well. The content of documents was analyzed using a data-driven conventional content analysis approach and all details regarding the subject were extracted. The extracted information was reviewed by all authors several times and nine themes emerged. Results The findings show that improving equity in health financing and access to health care services among different groups of population was one of the main triggers to merge health insurance funds. Resistance by groups enjoying better benefit package and concerns of workers and employers about increasing the contribution rates were among challenges ahead of merging health insurance funds. Improving equity in the health care financing; reducing inequity in access to and utilization of health care services; boosting risk pooling; reducing administrative costs; higher chance to control total health care expenditures; and enhancing strategic purchasing were the main advantages of merging health insurance funds. The experience of these countries also emphasizes that political commitment and experiencing a reliable economic growth to enhance benefit package and support the single national insurance scheme financially after merging are required to facilitate implementation of merging health insurance funds. Conclusions Other contributing health reforms should be implemented simultaneously or sequentially in both supply side and demand side of the health system if merging is going to pave the way reaching universal health coverage.

scholarly journals On the slow implementation of pilot projects: Suspected causes from the perspective of statutory health insurance funds / Zur zögerlichen Umsetzung von Modellvorhaben: vermutete Ursachen aus Sicht der gesetzlichen Krankenkassen

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-71
Author(s):  
Michael Wessels ◽  
Dorith Geuen
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Statutory Health Insurance ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Pilot Projects ◽  
Insurance Funds ◽  
Health Insurance Companies ◽  
The Law ◽  
Health Insurance Funds

Abstract Background The system of nursing care in Germany is currently changing. For years, a further development of cooperation in the health care sector has been discussed. And thus a change in the distribution of tasks between health care professions. In 2008, the legislature introduced the introduction of pilot projects for the transfer of medicinal tasks to nurses according to § 63 para. 3c Social Code V. The implementation is very sluggish. The aim of the study was to analyze the reasons for this sluggish implementation from the perspective of the statutory health insurance funds. Methods Quantitative survey of all statutory health insurance funds (n=124) in Germany. Results To ensure supply, 94 % of health insurance companies consider the transfer of medical tasks to non-medical care providers as a sensible approach. Also 96 % consider this to be very important in order to ensure care. Although 96 % of health insurance funds support the implementation of pilot projects, only 8 % are in fact involved in such contracts; 71 % do not plan own pilot projects for the future. In the view of the statutory health insurance funds, legal obstacles (90 %), resistance by medical representatives (84 %), unresolved financing (74 %) and liability issues (70 %) as well as non-applicable regulations in G-BA-directive (79 %) and the law (85 %). Less than half (46 %) of the health insurance companies suspect high costs causing the slow implementation. Discussion The amendments adopted by the legislature in the current reform of the law on care professions can be described as appropriate; in particular the fact that statutory health insurance funds should implement and carry out appropriate pilot projects by 31 December 2020.

scholarly journals Arbeit im Gesundheitswesen: "Reformen" auf Kosten der Beschäftigten?

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (132) ◽  
pp. 389-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva-Maria Krampe
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Treatment Costs ◽  
Direct Care ◽  
Direct Patient Care ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Insurance Funds ◽  
The Government ◽  
Health Insurance Funds

The strategy of the 1998 Red-Green government in the field of health care aimed to realize two core objectives: first, the government wanted to improve the quality of health care, and second, it intended to reduce treatment costs and thus maintain the stability of insurance contributions without cuts to a comprehensive benefits catalogue. SPD and Green Party have retained competition among the health insurance funds, budgets and flat-rates in the payment of providers introduced by the preceding government but revoked many of the measures of cost privatisation. However, since its re-election in autumn 2002, the governing coalition has increasingly moved towards privatization of treatment costs. As regards the effects of recent policy changes, experience so far shows that the competition of health insurance funds as well as the sectoral budgets largely failed to increaseSince the neo-liberal Health Care Reforms in the 1980ies, concerning hospital financing, and the introduction of the Nursing Care Insurance in the 1990ies, the different sectors of the German health care system have been subjected to slow, but nonetheless radical changes. Rationalization, privatization, and the enforcement of cost effectiveness have led to a restructuring of employment in the system. Whereas the number of employees in charge of the direct care of patients in hospitals (doctors, nurses) has increased as well as their work load has grown, other groups of employees, mainly in the field of technical assistance and other services (cleaning, kitchen) have been transferred to new private service companies, founded exactly for the reason of providing cheap labor. This resulted in an increase of part time, low paid jobs, mainly for women. In the sectors of community care and the care of the elderly, we can observe a tendency to even minimize the amount of qualified staff in direct patient care to be replaced by less qualified, low paid part time workers. Within these changes a new, academically educated elite of nurses believed to find a more powerful position in hospital hierarchy. Thus they supported neo-liberal change without perceiving that it endangered their own position in the long run.he efficiency of health care.

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