Wanten appointment: This is how Witzenhausen fights against the emergency flood!

Wanten appointment: This is how Witzenhausen fights against the emergency flood!

The search for a specialist appointment in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis is increasingly as a challenge for many patients. Especially in urgent cases, home and pediatricians can issue transfer notes with urgency codes in order to enable their patients to make an appointment with a specialist faster. This regulation has been in force since January 1, 2023 and is intended to help to meet acute medical needs. Nevertheless, doctors report difficulties that the system brings.

According to Dr. med. Philipp Siebrasse from the group practice in Eschwege is becoming more and more difficult for patients without urgency code to get an appointment promptly. The elimination of the practice fee in 2013 led to the fact that patients without transfer can make appointments directly in specialist practices. This often leads to overcrowded schedule, since many patients turn to specialists without an urgent occasion, which often puts on acute cases.

waiting times and problems in the system

The system stipulates that patients should receive a specialist appointment within 35 days on urgent concerns. If the family practice is successfully placed, these practices will receive a remuneration between 10 and 15 euros. Dr. However, Siebrasse points out that the additional work for general practitioners means tying the time and resources. Employees often have to book appointments for patients, which increases the burden on the staff.

Much of the difficulties arise when patients without an urgency code are presented, even with serious complaints. These patients are not only rejected, but often wait months for an appointment. As a result, many are looking for better treatment options, but this becomes a vicious circle because they are ultimately without any date.

Florian Künemund, spokesman for the Werra-Meißner Clinic, also recognizes the good intentions behind the emergency mediation system, but notes that not every patient has the same chance of an appointment. Often it is patients from outside the circle who get access to appointments faster, which makes the situation more difficult for those in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis.

Appointments via various channels

In addition to the family doctor agency, patients can also book appointments through the appointment service points of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, be it by phone at the nationwide uniform number 116 117 or online. These offers are designed to facilitate the appointment for patients and should also include psychotherapists. The hope is that this centralized method gives more people access to the needed medical care quickly and efficiently.

In the past, it was easier for general practitioners to convey patients with urgent complaints directly from a specialist. Today the process is more complicated for direct specialist dates, and not all disciplines are covered equally well, which can further increase the problems. It is often difficult for general practitioners to evaluate the need for a visit to a specialist in a system that does not use the patient flows.

The increasing numbers of patients who go to hospitals with problems show that the existing system is not sufficient. The pressure on the emergency rooms increases, which endangers the actual purposes of the clinics that are intended for seriously ill people and not for regular outpatient care. In international comparison, there are only a few systems in Germany that offer a meaningful pilot function for transfer.

In the medical care center in the Werra-Meißner district, however, you can see bright spots. Künemund emphasizes that the appointment of the appointment works well despite the challenges. The team is able to distinguish between emergencies and less urgent affairs and inform the patients in good time. The possibility of booking appointments via the health insurance company's own appointment portal should further optimize the process. Despite the general dissatisfaction in parts of the population, it is recognized that many patients are happy to receive an appointment at all.

For a detailed view of the situation and possible solutions, it remains to be seen how the system develops further in practice and the patient satisfaction can be improved. The discussion about the accessibility on specialist dates in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis has opened and requires a continuing examination of the existing structures in the healthcare system. target = "_ blank" rel = "nofollow noopener noreferer"> for further information, see the current reporting on www.hna.de.